Chapters Banner had to admit, despite everything that had happen to him as the Hulk and with the Avengers; this purple horse surprised him greatly. He sat up and the horse stumbled backwards, uncertainty in its eyes. It was afraid of him. Smart horse. Banner looked up at its head and found that it wasn't a horse, but instead it was a unicorn. It had an odd purple mane with a magenta strip down the center of it. Since it was half turned away from him, he saw that it had an odd marking on its flank. Some sort of star perhaps?
"Amazing, I've never seen a unicorn like this before. I wonder if this world is full of them?" Banner mused out loud. He watched as the unicorn’s eye widened in shock and it gazed at him in an expression of interest.
"Incredible," the unicorn whispered in a female's voice as it got closer. Both Banners’ eyes widened in shock and he slowly approached the unicorn.
"You can talk," they both said at the same time. The unicorn backed away again, while Banner stood up to his full height and began to ponder out loud.
"I never seen a horse of any kind like you before. Not only are you amazingly different than any other horse or unicorn that I’ve seen before, but you are also capable of human speech and seem to comprehend what I'm saying. Your intellect must be far beyond any other horse that I've ever seen." The horse seemed to take some offense to what Banner was saying and stepped forward with a huff.
"Actually, I'm a pony not a horse. Second, I have a name. I'm Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to her majesty Princess Celestia, and I am an Element of Magic," Twilight said with some indignation. Banner realized that he had probably just offended the first talking horse...er, pony that he had ever met.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Sparkle, where are my manners? I'm Doctor Bruce Banner," he introduced himself, holding out a hand. Twilight looked at it for a moment before reaching up with her hoof and shaking it.
"Well you seem friendly enough. So, you're a doctor, huh? Never seen you working at the hospital," she said, causing Banner to correct her.
"No, Doctor as in a scientist. I'm a scientist," he explained.
"A scientist?" Twilight asked in growing interest, her eyes starting to shine. "As in, you love to learn and study?"
"Well, I suppose those are some of the things scientists do...so yes." Twilight let a huge smile cross her face. Another...thing that loved to learn? It was too good to be true!
"So, what are you? And why are you wearing that?" she asked, looking up and down at him. Banner looked down and turned red with embarrassment, realizing his torn pants had almost come off.
"Well, I am a homo sapien or a human being. I come from a planet called Earth, where other beings like me are the sentient creatures. As to why I'm dressed like this...the fabric's cheap and rips. This isn't the first time I've wound up like this," he explained with an embarrassed smile. Twilight was paying attention to every word, but a few questions still nagged at her.
"How did you get here? You're the first...human I've ever seen before. Nothing in the books on mythology even mention you." Banner rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of a way to explain to her how he had arrived. He decided to go with the truth.
"I fell from space and crashed into the forest," he said in a joking tone. Twilight raised an eyebrow at him.
"Hold on. You, fell from space and crashed landed in the forest, without so much as a scratch on you. Is that what you're telling me?" she asked in a dry voice.
"Well...yes." Twilight looked at him seriously for a minute before she burst out laughing.
"That's funny, Doctor Banner. Glad to see you have a sense of humor." Banner chuckled with her, glad to see that she had believed he was telling a joke, even though what he said was mostly truth. After she finished giggling to herself, Twilight looked around at the forest.
"So why are you here at this time of night? Shouldn't you be inside?"
"Well, I was actually planning to sleep here," Banner replied. Twilight's jaw hit the ground.
"What? Sleep in the Everfree forest? Are you crazy?" she asked him in disbelief.
"Would you be surprised if I said yes?" he said in a joking tone, but Twilight was serious now.
"The forest is filled with enough dangerous creatures during the day! Who knows how many deadly things come out at night! You were lucky I was the first thing to find you. If a timberwolf or a manticore had discovered you sleeping there, you would've been done for!" Twilight explained with wide eyes.
"I'm not afraid of anything this forest has to throw at me," Banner said in a serious tone. If anything, the creatures of the forest should be afraid of him--or to be more precise, what was inside of him. Twilight shook her head and continued to speak.
"I can't allow you to sleep in such a dangerous area. You can spend the night at my home," she told him. Banner's eyes widened and he tried to refuse.
"Oh nonono, I couldn't impose myself on you. It would be too much trouble," he lied. In reality, he was afraid of what would happen if he got...angry while he was in the pony's house. He had a history of destroying structures while he was angry.
"No back talk. You will spend the night. I refuse to let somepony be forced to sleep outside in the Everfree forest," Twilight said sternly. Banner tried one last time to dissuade her.
"But...I'd just be too much trouble. Besides, it's a nice night out. I'm sure I'll be perfectly fine out here." Twilight wasn't having any of it and looked him in the eyes with a stern look.
"I insist."
Banner knew that when someone like her said, 'I insist,' that there was no arguing with them. So with a sigh, he gave in. Twilight clapped her hooves in delight and indicated for him to follow her. As the two began walking, Twilight was thinking about what to ask the human. Twilight was naturally very curious about this human, although she hadn't told him the whole truth. While humans weren't mentioned in the book of mythology, some still speculated that humans could exist. She knew one mare in particular that would be thrilled by Banner's arrival. Twilight also wanted to see what he knew and if he could teach her anything.
"So what are you doing up at this time of night?" Banner asked, interrupting her train of thought.
"Well, I was in my home studying, when I saw an incredible green meteor heading for the Everfree forest. But when I got to the crater, I found that the meteor must have disintegrated in the atmosphere. I was heading back home when found you lying under a tree. I have to admit, you really surprised me," she said with a smile.
"Not as much as you surprised me. I've never seen a horse--pony like you before...And the fact that you can speak my language just makes it that much better," Banner replied, returning Twilight's smile. Twilight looked at him in confusion for a moment.
"You mean you have ponies on your world to?"
"We call them horses, but they are nothing like you. They can't talk for one thing and are nowhere near as intelligent." Twilight took interest in that statement, wondering why the horses on Banner's world wouldn't be as smart as the one's here. Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep howling. Fear shot through her body as she started to look around the forest.
"Timberwolves," she whispered in fear. The moment she said this, five odd looking wolves burst through the trees surrounding Twilight and Banner. While Twilight looked at them in fear, Banner was taking a more scientific approach.
"Unbelievable! These wolves have somehow developed some sort of exoskeleton made entirely of wood. Was there some sort of natural disaster that forced them to adapt? Or maybe it was--"
"Banner, I know you'd like to study them, but trust me when I say we are in danger. These wolves are vicious and will try to eat us," Twilight whispered in fear, watching as the Timberwolves circled her. Banner wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't particularly afraid of the wolves, but what he was afraid of is what would happen if Twilight was there when the other guy came out. Would the Hulk be able to tell she was a friend? Probably not. Banner did have one idea, however.
"Don't worry, I've got this," he whispered to Twilight, before walking straight up to one of the wolves and offering it his arm. Twilight looked at him in disbelief and tried to motion for him to back up. The Timberwolf looked at him in confusion, before sniffing his arm. The moment his scent hit the wolfs nose, it growled and drew back, not liking its prey. Something about Banner smelled...dangerous. It turned to the other wolves and shook it's head. The pack turned away from the two and headed off into the woods. Banner waved goodbye to the wolves as Twilight stared at where the wolves had left in shock. She slowly looked at Banner who had a huge grin on his face.
"How did you do that?" Twilight asked, eyeing Banner cautiously. Banner laughed at the look on her face and smiled.
"My body gives off a certain radiation that makes predators stay away from me. It's essentially telling them that I'm dangerous to eat," Banner explained, pointing at his skin. In reality, the wolves had sensed his gamma poisoning and knew that he would be a lethal meal to eat. And that was if they could eat him without his other half tearing them apart.
"Shall we be on our way?" Banner asked, giving a small bow to let Twilight pass. Twilight smiled and walked past him. An uneventful walk followed and soon Banner found himself in the quiet town of Ponyville. He glanced around at all the cozy-looking homes, imagining what would happen if the Hulk were to be let loose here. Banner and Twilight walked down the deserted streets until they came across a massive tree in the center of town.
"Is this where you live?" Banner asked in wonderment. Twilight gave him a look.
"Don't like it?" She asked with some emotion. Banner smiled.
"Are you kidding? What beats sleeping under a tree? Sleeping in one," he replied and opened the door to the tree house. When Twilight flicked on the lights, Banner had to admit that he was stunned. It wasn't just a home; it was a library and on the shelves were an incredible number of books. Just thinking of all the knowledge of this world stored on these shelves made him feel like a kid in a candy store. Twilight had a smile on her face when she saw Banner's reaction.
"I thought you'd like it. Wait here while I get you a sleeping bag." Twilight headed upstairs, leaving Banner to look around. The library was as impressive as it was big. He looked at the books on the shelves and found the strangest titles on them: 'Daring Doo and the Valley of the Lost?' and, 'Gnomes: Are They Real?' Not only were these odd book titles, but they were also not alphabetized as well. Banner turned around when he heard Twilight come back down the stairs, sleeping bag in tow. Much to Banner's surprise, he found that Twilight was somehow levitating the bag with some sort of magic.
"Alright, you can sleep down here for tonight," Twilight told Banner, dropping the bag at his feet.
"You didn't tell me you could use magic," Banner said with a smile.
"Well you didn't tell me you were predator proof," Twilight retaliated with a smirk. Banner gave her the point and stretched out on the sleeping bag. Twilight turned off the lights and headed upstairs. Banner lay on his back staring at the ceiling, recounting everything that had happened to him today: Battled a swarm of aliens bent on destroying the Earth? Check. Fall through space in a battle to the death? Also check. Met a talking pony? Wow.
Even if it had happened, Banner still couldn't believe it. He was in a land with what he assumed were magical, talking ponies. Sure it wasn't the strangest thing that had happened to him, but it was definitely up there. With all the things that had happened, Banner was unable to sleep. So he walked over to one of the bookshelves and picked out a book called 'A History of Equestria.' He sat down by the window so that he could read in the moonlight. Banner flipped it open and began to read, just skimming at first, but growing more and more interested with each page. Apparently the ruler of the ponies was called Celestia, the pony Twilight had mentioned earlier, and she was an alicorn, a combination of a pegasus and a unicorn. That told Banner that there were also pegasi in this new world. He read on to find that Celestia had been alive for thousands of years and had a sister that at one time tried to over throw her rule.
'So even these peaceful ponies have problems, huh.' Banner thought to himself. He sat by the window and read the book cover to cover in the span of a few hours. Banner could devour books when he felt like it, and he had nothing better to do. He continued to read through all the different books that Twilight had, until he was well caught up on the history of Equestria and what its current state was. Banner was surprised that for such intelligent creatures, they had no electricity or self moving vehicles. It was almost as though they were trapped in time. He looked out the window at the now rising sun that was apparently raised by Celestia herself. A new day was dawning, huh?
"I have to admit, I've liked this world so far. It seems...nice. Maybe this will be the place where I will finally find peace," he mused to himself with a smile. Then he shook his head. 'I can't think like that,' he decided. The best way to protect the ponies from the Hulk would be to leave. He knew that Twilight wanted to ask him some questions, but for her safety he should go. Banner quietly stood up and tip toed to the door. He checked to make sure that Twilight hadn't heard him and then he opened the door.
Standing at the door with hoof raised to knock was an orange pony.
What Banner was experiencing was one of those awkward moments when two people meet for the first time under odd circumstances. To Banner, he was a human that was only known and trusted by one pony. He wasn't certain if this orange pony with the cowboy hat and the apples on her flank would be as trusting.
Applejack was having very different thoughts. She had come to Twilight's to wake her up early as Twilight had requested, and Applejack found some odd monstrosity that she had never seen before leaving Twilight's library at the time of day when only she and her brother were up. And to make matters even more awkward, the creature was wearing nothing but very loose, ripped up pants. So she did what any concerned friend would do in this situation. She kicked the crap out of Banner.
"What in tarnation are ya?!" Applejack yelled, bucking Banner in the stomach. Banner fell over with an "umph" and collapsed upon the ground. He tried to process what was happening as he felt his hands and feet being tied up by this strange pony. Was she sent by the local government to catch him? Was it possible that they had already learned of the Hulk's existence? He couldn't let anyone, be they pony or human, get their hands on the Hulk. He had to escape, even if that meant-
"Alright you...whatever you are, what did you do to ma friend Twilight?" Applejack demanded, her voice quivering with worry.
'That's what this was about?!' Banner realized between blows. She was concerned for Twilight, who was her friend? Banner let out a sigh of relief and began to calm down. She wasn't after Hulk; she thought that he had done something to Twilight. It made sense; some barely-clothed creature leaving her friend’s house in the early morning would spook anyone. Banner turned onto his side and tried to explain himself.
"Trust me miss, I haven't done anything to your friend. I'm Doctor Banner and I was invited here by Twilight herself. She's sleeping upstairs, if you want to go ask her yourself." The orange pony looked into Banner's eyes and slowly walked past him into the library, leaving Banner tied up in the street. He looked around to see a few early birds staring at him.
"Hi, how's it going?" he said with a smile, imagining that he must be quite the spectacle, lying tied up outside of Twilight's library. After a minute, he heard the sounds of voices from the upstairs part of the tree, immediately followed by the sound of running hooves. Twilight ran out the front door, followed by the orange pony.
"Doctor Banner!" she cried out, using her magic to untie him. Banner stood up and massaged his wrist, still wearing a smile. After he had given up on trying to cure the Hulk, Banner had tried to learn to see the brighter side of things. He was glad for the pony's sake that he had taken those classes to learn how to laugh things off and to smile in stressful situations. If he hadn't, there would've been an orange spot where the pony was standing and Ponyville would be in ruins.
"Are you alright?" Twilight asked, looking up and down at him to make sure he was okay.
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. This isn't the first time I've been tied up before," he replied with a smile. The orange pony stepped forward with her hat in her hooves, guilt written on her face.
"I-I'm sorry about the way I treated ya earlier," she said in a small voice. "Ah should've believed ya when ya told me yer story, but-"
"But you were worried about your friend and reacted in that way to protect her," Banner finished for the orange pony. "Don't worry, I'm not angry. I probably would've reacted in a similar manner."
"Are ya sure yer not mad," she asked.
"Trust me, you'd know if I were mad. I would, however, like to know your name."
"Oh, right, I'm Applejack, Element of Honesty," Applejack said with a smile, sticking out a hoof which Banner shook. He noted that she had a slight southern accent; it made her unique, he guessed. Twilight walked past Applejack and smiled at Banner.
"Well, now that the two of you are acquainted, I figured we'd go over to Rarity's and get you some less revealing clothing...unless you want to go around dressed like that?" Twilight said with a sly smile. Banner blushed once again and pulled the pants up. Twilight and Applejack laughed at his embarrassment. Applejack waved goodbye to the two and headed off to her farm. Twilight pulled on Banner's arm and the two headed off down the street. Banner looked around and found that he was getting some funny looks from the ponies on the streets. Twilight also noticed this.
"It's alright, everypony, he's with me!" Twilight called out. Banner was surprised that all the ponies nodded when she said this and went back to their everyday lives, all because she said that Banner was with her. Was Twilight an important figure in this society or were they used to her bringing home strange creatures? He also took note again that she was levitating a checklist this time, forcing his curious side to surface.
"So, I read about how you unicorns use magic, but where does it come from?" he asked her, fairly curious.
"Most unicorns are born with the ability to use magic which we channel through our horns," Twilight explained as her horn lit up a purple color. "While most ponies don't know for sure where magic comes from, the most popular theory is that the original alicorn, a combination of all three races, separated itself into three separate ponies long ago, earth, pegasi and unicorns. The earth ponies were stronger, the pegasi could move clouds and the unicorns could use magic."
"Interesting theory. Would that make the original alicorn a god?"
"Probably would, although there is little proof that it existed." Banner nodded, interested on how that magic seemed nothing like the magic back home. Thor's hammer was magic to a degree, but he was certain that it wasn't because of a trinity creature. But different world, different rules.
"So, who's this Rarity?" Banner asked as he observed the brightly colored town.
"She's a fashion designer. She makes the prettiest outfits all throughout Equestria. You'll love her," Twilight said with a smile. Banner wasn't sure about that, but these ponies had been nice to him so far, so he would try and return the gesture. But as soon as he got these clothes, he would have to leave. Every second he spent in this town was another second he put them in danger. Banner and Twilight stopped outside an odd building that looked a bit like a merry-go-round.
"Well, here we are," Twilight informed him. Banner raised an eyebrow at the place before shrugging. 'Whatever,' he thought; he'd seen weirder. Twilight pushed open the door to the building and the two stepped inside.
'This place is a mess,' Banner thought to himself when he saw the inside of the building. There was material and fabrics all over the place, as well as glitter on the floor and a slew of clothing in the weirdest places. The strangest sight of them all was the white unicorn with the purple mane running around the place, with measuring tape and scissors floating after her. Banner watched while Twilight 'faced hoof' at the antics of the unicorn, who seemed to be on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
"Ah, where did I put those crystals? Oh and what about that dress that's only half finished? I just don't have the time!" As she continued to run back and forth around the shop, Twilight stepped forward and made her presence known.
"Rarity, it's me. Will you please calm down," Twilight asked in an annoyed voice. Rarity stopped and turned to face the two of them. She smiled when she saw Twilight and gasped when she saw Banner. Twilight stepped in before Rarity had another panic attack.
"Rarity, this is Doctor Bruce Banner. He's a friend of mine," Twilight explained slowly, trying to keep her friend calm. Rarity's eyes were glued to Banner and she gawked at him.
"Dear heavens, it's hideous!" Rarity exclaimed, covering her eyes and backing away. Twilight rolled her eyes while Banner laughed.
"If you think this is ugly, you should see what's on the inside," Banner said in a joking tone. Rarity shook her head and pointed a trembling hoof at his pants.
"THEY are what I find hideous, not you. Dear Twilight, why did you not bring him to me sooner? This is a fashion emergency!" Rarity exclaimed and dragged Banner over to her fitting rooms. Banner was tossed a towel and told to quickly put it on, which he did. Rarity then instructed him to give her his pants, which he also did. She held them a few feet in front of her with her magic, looking like she was trying not to throw up. Once the pants had been...disposed of (Rarity set them on fire), she came back to where Banner was standing, examining him in great interest. She began to take measurements, remaining silent the entire time. Banner gave Twilight a look of desperation, to which Twilight just shrugged. Rarity's tape measure came back with a snap and she walked over to her fabrics.
"I'm sorry if I'm not talking much darling, but I've never had to make clothes for a creature such as yourself before and your measurements stumped me for a minute," she explained to him in a carefree voice. "Don't worry though, I've figured out a design for you."
"Thank you for your help, Miss Rarity. I'm grate--"
"Oh please, just call me Rarity," she interrupted. Banner sighed and tried again.
"Thank you for your generosity, Rarity. I hope I'm not inconveniencing you in any way."
"Oh don't worry, I was stuck on a design for another client. I needed to take my mind off the problem," she said with a smile, placing glasses on the bridge of her nose. She started to look through different fabrics, then added, "I'd better introduce myself formally. I'm Rarity, Element of Generosity."
"Thank you. If you don't mind me asking, why are you so willing to help me?"
"A friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine, even if they have no fashion sense," she answered, drawing some designs on a piece of paper. "Twilight, be a dear and pick up some more glue for me at the market." Twilight rolled her eyes and exited the room, leaving Banner standing still with Rarity.
"What do you need the glue for?" Banner asked. Rarity turned around and winked.
"To get rid of Twilight for a few minutes. I'd like to talk to you one-on-one for a bit," she said with another smile. Banner didn’t know what to do, so he decided to simply stand still. He watched as Rarity lifted a magnificent piece of cloth up and start to decorate it.
"Rarity, I'd recommend that you use your cheapest material. My clothes have a tendency to...rip," Banner explained, hoping she would listen.
"Oh nonono my dear, you will get the best I have to offer. I never create cheap clothing, I craft masterpieces!" she exclaimed with a flourish. Banner sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to change her mind.
"Then at least use your stretchiest material for the pants," Banner requested. He didn't know if Rarity heard him or not, but she did start with her questions.
"So, where are you from?" she asked.
"A place called Earth," Banner responded after a moment. There was no harm in telling them where he was from, they didn't have the technology to reach it anyway. Rarity nodded and continued with her questions.
"You're a human, aren't you?" Rarity asked, but it sounded more like a fact. Banner was startled by this, not realizing that ponies knew about his species. Rarity watched his reaction and smiled.
"Yes, I know what you are. But that's only because Lyra is such a fan of yours. She is just obsessed with you humans, actually trying to add you to the Book of Mythology. Nopony took her seriously, but it seems we were wrong. I'm surprised you didn’t know about her, she often chats with Twilight."
So, Twilight's been keeping a few secrets from him, huh? He couldn't blame her, he hadn't told her all of his secrets, but he would have to be more cautious around her. She was a bright one after all. Rarity had finished what looked like a tee-shirt and floated it over to him. Banner looked at it and gave Rarity a look.
"Lyra showed me some of the items that humans wore, thinking I'd be interested. So I had a pretty good idea of what to make for you." Banner slipped it on, amazed by its texture and softness. It felt warm, but seemed to keep him cool at the same time. She had made it a bright red.
"This...this is incredible! Rarity, I can't thank you enough," Banner said to her, looking at the shirt in amazement. Rarity was giggling with glee at his reaction and floated the pants over to him next. She turned around while he took off the towel and put on the pants. They felt just like the shirt, warm yet freeing. They were also purple, a nice touch.
"I used a more rubbery material for those so that they would be stretchy," she explained. "Why you wanted them like that is beyond me."
"Thanks for doing this. I can't pay you back right now, but..."
"Oh no darling, I couldn't ask for you to repay me. It must be terrible, being stuck in a new world without your friends, family and...fashion sense," she said with a shudder. Banner smiled at her as the door opened and Twilight re-entered, levitating a glue bottle.
"Rarity, I got the glue and...oh, I see you're already done. Well, come on Banner, I'd like to introduce you to my other friends." Banner waved goodbye to Rarity and followed Twilight out of the library. Rarity had been nice. A bit talkative, but a nice pony none the less. The clothes felt nice and were easy to wear and Twilight had given them an approving look, so he figured they were fine.
"So, who are we seeing next?" Banner asked Twilight.
"We're going to see Fluttershy. She lives by the woods and takes care of animals. She's a bit shy, so try not to look too intimidating," Twilight joked.
"Don't worry, I have another face for that," Banner replied in a joking voice, telling her the truth. He had a much more intimidating face. As the two walked, Banner began to think about the Hulk. Normally his voice would have been bugging Banner the moment he got annoyed, but he had remained silent. Was Hulk just ignoring him or...or was this place so peaceful and nice that the Hulk had no reason to come out?
The two had walked to a small cottage on the outskirts of the forest where Banner had landed. Twilight called out for Fluttershy while Banner looked around. He saw a fence where a bunch of different animal houses were placed. But he didn't see any animals. Odd, even if they smelled his blood, they would have at least come to see what he was. Then they heard a scream of terror coming from behind the cottage. Twilight and Banner rushed behind the cottage and a terrifying sight greeted their eyes.
Fluttershy was cornered by a snake.
It wasn't a particulary large snake that had Fluttershy backed into a corner, nor would it have been able to resist her stare if she had decided to use it. Most of all, snakes and Fluttershy usually got along fine. The reason that this particual green and brown serpent was going out of control was because a hawk had happened to leave a row of talon marks in the snake's back, causing it considerable distress. The discomfort had driven the snake to do things that it would not normally do, like attack Angel Bunny (which nopony in its right mind would do) or try to bite the pony who was trying to help it. The poor snake was just in pain.
"N-now Susie, I know y-you're hurt, but I can-EEP!" Fluttershy squeeled as the snake (named Susie) nearly bit her in the nose, making her retreat even further. Twilight and Banner weren't sure what to do, since the snake was too dangerously close to Fluttershy to try anything. Levitation would probably cause Susie to lash out at everything and maybe hit Fluttershy.
"Twilight, can you do anything?" Banner asked in a whisper.
"Hold on, I think I might have a spell that can calm her down," Twilight muttered as she started to concentrate her magic, letting it flow from her horn to the snake's back. Although the spell was supposed to heal the snake's injury, the moment the snake felt something from behind it immediately spun around and lashed out with its fangs at Twilight. Banner saw the movement and acted on reflex.
"LOOK OUT!" he yelled as he pushed Twilight out of the way, placing himself between the snake and Twilight. "GAH!" Banner cried out as the fangs sunk into his skin. He could feel the poison begin to enter his body, but Susie let go almost right after she had bitten him. He watched as she sputtered violently and slithered towards the forest, still spitting. He looked down at his injury while Fluttershy and Twilight came to his aid.
"Doctor Banner, are you alright?" Twilight asked in concern for the second time that day.
"Oh dear, she didn't hurt you, did she?" the yellow pony with the pink mane called Fluttershy asked in equal concern. Banner nodded, preparing for the surfacing of the Hulk. But the rage never came and Banner remained Banner. He would have been relieved if he weren't bleeding.
"Yeah, I think I'm fine," he muttered. That wasn't good enough for the two ponies.
"We need to get you to the hospital right away," Twilight said firmly. Banner watched Fluttershy nod her head in agreement and he knew that there was no point in arguing. Twilight and Fluttershy ran off to the hospital with Banner following right behind them, looking closely at his puncture wounds. He watched with a grim face as the poison was completely overpowered by his gamma-infused blood cells, quickly making short work of the poison. If the doctor asked, he would just tell them that the snake never injected any venom into him. It was better than the truth.
-----------=-------=----------=-----^-----
Banner had to admit, the Ponyville Hospital was a lot more modern than he would have believed possible. While he was being rushed to the emergency center, he saw microphones, x-ray machines; even what looked like a fully electric-powered operating room. But that didn't make sense. If the ponies had the power to use electricity, why did they still use candles and lanterns. Or maybe that's all he had seen of Equestria so far and there was much more to be discovered.
He was immediatly seen by a brown pony in a doctor's outfit, which caused Banner to raise his eyebrows a few times. Banner sat patiently on a bed while the doctor examined his arm. Things started to go down hill from there.
"Well Doctor Banner, there seems to be no poison in your blood, from what I can see from examining it, and the wound should heal up nicely in a few days," the doctor muttered, looking at Banner's arm in interest. Banner was something of an interest in Ponyville now, and in the few hours he had been there, rumors had started to spread like wild fire.
"So does that mean he's clear to go?" Fluttershy asked in a worried voice.
"Yes, he should be fine," the doctor responded, causing the two ponies to sigh in relief. "However, I would like a quick blood sample to make sure the venom's completely gone."
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Alright Banner, just a quick blood sample and we can--"
"No," Banner said in a flat voice, standing up off the bed. The doctor and the other two ponies looked at him in surprise.
"What do you mean, no?" the doctor asked.
"What I said. No blood samples, no needles; no."
"Doctor Banner, I really need a blood sample. I will get one--"
"And it will be the last thing you ever do." The doctor and Fluttershy slowly backed away from Banner, while Twilight looked at him in confusion. Why didn't he want to have his blood drawn? Was he deathly afraid of needles? And why was he acting like this. Even when Applejack had hog tied him outside her house, he had still retained his carefree nature. And...had his eyes always been that deep a green? She was about to say something, when the doors flew open and a nurse rushed in.
"Doctor Cleancut, we need you immediatly! A foal has a ingested a very serious poison and the other three doctors are out!"
"What, all of them?" the doctor asked in disbelief, forgetting about Banner for the time being. The two rushed out of the room, leaving the two ponies and Banner alone in the room. The moment the doctor left, Banner came back to reality and chased after the doctor. Twilight tried to follow, but was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder.
"Fluttershy, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy looked scared.
"Your friend...Banner, why did he say that?" she asked in a frightened voice. Twilight looked to where he had rushed out the door and shook her head.
"I don't know. I've never seen him act like that," Twilight said. 'Or seen his eyes glow green before,' she added to herself as the two chased after Banner. They found him in another room next to the doctor and nurse, all of them standing above a very sick foal on a bed. His mother was standing off to the side, a look of terror on her tear-stained face. The foal had white fur, but his face was blue and he was gasping for air.
"Nurse, get me an anti poison potion," the doctor ordered, examining the foal. The nurse shook her head.
"We're out. The shipment that was supposed to come in today got delayed," she replied in a panicked voice. The doctor swore between his teeth.
"Do we have any healers on hand?"
"Doctor Lifeline was the only doctor with us who can perform poison removal and he's on break."
"Then go get him!" The nurse ran out of the room, while the doctor turned back to the bedside. It wasn't good, the foal didn't have long to live.
"Get me charcoal." All the ponies turned to face Banner, who was now standing above the foal. "I SAID GET ME CHARCOAL!" he bellowed with green eyes and the doctor ran to where the charcoal was kept. He grabbed some from the cabinet and rushed back in. Banner grabbed the charcoal and handed it to Twilight.
"I need you to get this above 600 degrees celsius. Can you do that?" Twilight gave him an odd look.
"Yeah I can, but--"
"Do it." Nopony was arguing with him at this point, so Twilight quickly super-heated the charcoal to what she assumed was the right tempurature.
"Good, now cool it." Once the charcoal was cooled, Banner broke off a small piece and advanced towards the foal. The others watched as he forced open the foal's mouth and placed the charcoal inside, before helping the colt swallow. Banner backed off with sweat dripping down his brow as he and the others waited. After an agonizing long minute, the foal began to breath normally. Banner let out a sigh of relief and sat down, ignoring all the awestruck faces in the room.
"How did you do that?" Doctor Cleancut asked in awe, asking what all the ponies wanted to know. After taking a few breaths to lower his heart rate, Banner began explaining.
"When charcoal is heated to anywhere between 600 and 1200 degrees Celsius, it becomes active--one of the best methods for removing ingested poisons," he said with a sigh. All the ponies looked at him with a new sense of respect and awe, but Twilight was the only one to realize that his eyes were no longer green. Banner rose back up and stretched.
"Twilight, mind if we leave. I don't think I'm needed here any longer," Banner said with a smile, looking at the mother who was hugging her foal. Banner, Twilight and Fluttershy all left in silence. Fluttershy and Twilight were silent because they weren't sure of what to say, whereas Banner was silent because he was lost in thought.
'Even if it was at the proper temperature, the charcoal shouldn't have reacted as fast as it did or been as powerful. Maybe these ponies have a stronger poison resistance than humans and a simple stalling medicine can fully heal them,' he mused in his mind.
"Um, Doctor Banner?" 'The pony's question jerked Banner out of his train of thought, and he turned towards Fluttershy, who was hiding behind her mane. "I just wanted to say...thanks for saving me from the snake and thanks for saving that foal. I thought you were scary, but...you seem nice. It was nice meeting you." Banner smiled at her words, feeling the truth behind them, knowing that she was speaking from the heart. After years of being lied to, he could tell. Fluttershy waved goodbye and started back to her cottage.
"So which one of your friends am I going to meet next, Twilight? Twilight?" Banner repeated, seeing that Twilight wasn't with him. She was also deep in thought, but his tone caused her to snap out of it and she shook her head.
"Oh, um...Rainbow Dash! We're going to see Rainbow Dash!" Banner shrugged at her odd behavior and started walking, not noticing that Twilight stared at him with a concerned look. Why had his eyes changed to green?
------======-------------------------------======
The two found Rainbow Dash on the edge of a field, having a heated disscusion with a very enraged griffon. Twilight and Banner stood back and watched the two go at it.
"What do you mean you think you could out race me?" A pony with a rainbow mane (Rainbow Dash, Banner presumed) shouted at the griffon.
"Please, just because you can do some stupid sonic rainboom doesn't make you faster than me!" the griffon yelled back, puffing out her chest like a large bird. Banner raised an eyebrow at the "conversation," turned to Twilight and asked, "Who's the griffon?" Twilight sighed and shook her head.
"That's Gilda, a VERY boastful griffon. She and Rainbow Dash, on the left, used to be friends, until everypony found out what a jerk she was," Twilight explained, watching the two bicker.
"Doesn't make me faster? I'm the fastest there is!" Rainbow Dash responded with a smirk. The fastest there is? Wow, did that bring up some memories for Banner. Of course, in those memories the word 'fastest' was replaced with 'strongest' and there was usually a lot more destruction, but memories all the same.
"Rocks can move faster than you!" Ignoring the banter, Banner had another question for Twilight.
"So what's a sonic rainboom?"
"A sonic rainboom is when Rainbow Dash flies at supersonic speeds, breaking the sound barrier, which results in a huge rainbow. It's really cool!" That was interesting. That pony could fly faster than the speed of sound AND shatter the light spectrum while doing it? Impressive. However, he was getting tired of this argument, so he decided to step in.
"Excuse me, ladies?" Banner politely cut in, walking up to the two. Since neither of them knew what he was, they both stopped arguing and stared at him in wonder. RD looked behind him and saw Twilight, answering her question. Gilda was still confused.
"Who the heck are you?" she asked in a tough voice, but Banner heard the fear hidden behind it.
"I'm Doctor Banner," he repied with a slight bow, "and I couldn't help but overhear your interesting conversation. If the two of you would allow, I believe I can settle this dispute."
"Alright, sounds good to me," RD said with a smirk. Gilda sneered, but nodded in agreement.
"The solution to who is faster is simple. Rainbow Dash here claims that she can fly past the speed of sound, which if I remember correctly, is about 768 mph. Now Gilda, if you believe that you can fly faster than that, I would like you to give us a demonstration." Banner said, pointing to a starting line politely, which irritated the griffon even more. She KNEW she wasn't faster than RD, but her pride wouldn't allow for her to fail. She walked past the taller Banner and crouched down, spreading her wings with a glare on her face.
"And go," Banner said with a smile, squiting his eyes as Gilda blew by him. She flapped her wings as fast as they woud go, reaching some impressive speeds. When she reached a certain speed, she was forced to close her eyes from the wind in her face, completely blinding her. Unable to see, she quickly ran out of field and smacked into a tree near the field's edge.
CCRRAAACCKKK!
Banner raised both eyebrows in mock surprise while RD rolled on the ground laughing. Twilight shook her head and came over to introduce the two, when Gilda got up in a fury and stormed over to Banner.
"I suppose you think that was funny, didn't you? Making a fool out of me? I bet you're trying to fight back tears."
"Actually, I'm more astounded that you survived an impact like that. You creatures are a lot tougher, but a bit dumber, than I would have thought." That comment pushed Gilda over the edge.
"Oh, that's it. You're bird food," she growled, trying to get to Banner. Twilight simply caught her in a magic bubble and floated the angry griffon over to her.
"Let me outta here!" twilight gave the trapped griffon a smile.
"I'll only let you out if you promise to leave us alone, understand?" Gilda didn't look happy with the offer, but had no choice but to take it. She flew off in a rage when Twilight released the bubble and quickly vanished from sight. Twilight turned towards the smiling Banner and the still laughing Rainbow Dash.
"That wasn't very nice," Twilight scolded.
"I'm not a fan of braggarts who are bullies. I enjoy proving the saying, 'brains over brawn,'" Banner shrugged with a smile. RD had finally stopped laughing and walked up to Banner.
"I don't know who you are, Doctor Banner, but anypony that can do that to Gilda is a friend of mine," RD said with a chuckle. Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Would the two of you like to get better acquainted," Twilight asked.
"Love to, but can't. Promised to take Scootaloo to the Wonderbolts races and she's been dying to see them. Later," she said with a smile and shot off into the sky, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.
"Wow, she really was fast," Banner noted. Twilight groaned and started to walk to their next destination.
"So, whose's next?"
"Pinkie Pie," Twilight said with a groan. She had saved Pinkie for last because she was the more...unusual of Twilight's friends. But she did love meeting new ponies, so maybe she'd also get along with Banner. As the two walked off, neither of them noticed the griffon watching from the clouds.
'A pony named "Pinkie Pie," who worked in a building that was essentially a giant gingerbread house?' Banner thought. Oh, how sweet that irony tasted! Not that Banner was surprised, since very little surprised him at this point in his life. Twilight had taken him to the sweet shop of Ponyville. Not that she had needed to tell him, because the building was a dead giveaway. Before they entered, Twilight gave Banner a nervous look.
"Before we go in, I just wanted to tell you that Pinkie can be...unpredictable. She might say or do random things that might not make sense, like speak to some pony called 'the audience' or defy the laws of physics. Are you okay with this?"
"I've got someone like that back home," Banner said with a shrug.
"No, you don't get it. She might--"
"--Vanish and reappear in an instant, talk to people that aren't there and know what's going to happen before it even does, all while acting completely insane?" Banner interrupted. "Yeah, I know someone like that."
"Oh, okay," Twilight said in a stunned voice. She gently opened the door to the shop and braced herself. She saw nothing. No Pinkie, no surprise; nothing.
Twilight and Banner walked inside, looking around casually. Twilight didn't hear Pinkie's singing or note any other sign of her. She shrugged and the two turned to leave.
"HI!" a pony's voice suddenly blurted out from nowhere. Banner launched himself backwards across the floor while Twilight jumped into the air. A pink pony had somehow gotten behind the two and surprised them.
"Pinkie, why did you scare us?" a startled Twilight asked, somewhat annoyed. She turned to look at Banner and froze. He was glaring at Pinkie with a look of rage she'd never seen on another pony's face before, as if he were possessed. But what interested her the most, though, was that his eyes were green again--a deep green. After an awkward moment of silence, Banner's eyes returned to normal and he stood up to greet the pony.
"So, you must be Pinkie then," he said in a careful tone.
"Yup, that's me!" she said from the ceiling with a huge smile on her face, at which Banner raised an eyebrow. "You must be Twilight's friend that everypony's been talking about!" Pinkie exclaimed. Banner and Twilight exchanged confused glances.
"Everyponies talking about me?" Banner asked in interest. Pinkie's smile got wider.
"Yes sirree, everpony's talking about the human in Equestria. Lyra wanted to meet you, but she said she had some bragging to do first. Oh yeah, I have a gift for you," she said with a squeel and rushed off. Banner again raised an eyebrow as she went. She definitely reminded him of a more kid-friendly Deadpool. She was back in an instant, holding a small package in her mouth. She indicated for Banner to take it, so he did. Upon opening it, he found...a cupcake. How nice.
"I wasn't sure what flavor you'd like, so I made a cupcake with seven different flavor icings. Go on, try it!" Banner wasn't too fond of sugar, but he figured no harm would come of it. He looked at the multi-colored cupcake and bit into it. With all the training he had received on controlling his emotions, Banner was just able to keep his amazement in check.
"This is great," he said with a smile, finishing the rest of it in one bite. "Thank you." Pinkie's smile grew even larger and she gave one to Twilight too. Twilight's reaction was similar, except with more praise.
"Well ,we'd better get going. It's been a long day," Twilight said with a sigh, heading for the door. She grasped its handle and swung it open. A barrage of lights and shouting overwhelmed the three inside as the pony media locked onto its prey.
"Mr. Banner, is it true that you're an alien invader in our land?"
"Doctor Banner, how do you feel about being so far from home?"
"Are you the first of many to arrive or will you be taking any of us back with you to experiment on?"
"How many ponies have your alien-kind abducted?"
These and hundreds of more questions simultaneously assaulted Banner, who had to cover his eyes in order to block out the flashing lights. The reporters never came inside the building (they weren't sure what he would do), but seemed to have no problem screaming at him from beyond the door. Banner had never liked the press. They reported false information, intruded into people's lives and for the most part, just really annoyed--
'...smash...'
No. No, not here! The Hulk couldn't come out here! Banner sat down in a cross-legged position, giving the photographers something to shoot, and immediately began his breathing exercises, trying to lower his heart rate. If the Hulk was waking up, then Banner needed to get control over his emotions NOW. He placed his wrists on his knees and began to go blank, forgetting about the reporters, about the noise and the questions; just...forgetting. He closed his eyes and began to zen. In his mind, he was sitting atop a rock that balanced precariously on a pillar far above the ground. One move and the rock would come down. While he was in his own world, the questions continued...
"Doctor Banner, are you trying to communicate with the mothership? How about--?"
SLAM!
Twilight had grown tired of the reporters and had ungraciously slammed the door in their faces. She turned her attention back to Banner, who was still meditating on the floor.
"Well that was crazy, huh Banner?" Twilight said with a small chuckle. Banner didn't move, giving no indication that he had ever heard the pony. Now Pinkie wanted a try.
"Hellooooo, anypony home?" she shouted into his ear. Banner didn't flinch, didn't react; nothing. Now Twilight and Pinkie were starting to get a little worried.
"Doctor Banner, what's wrong?" Twilight asked nervously, hoping he would answer. He didn't. Twilight and Pinkie exchanged anxious glances and were about to take him to the hospital, when his eyes snapped back open and he slowly stood up.
"Oh, thank goodness you're okay! We were worried about you," Twilight said with a sigh if relief.
"Yeah, I was about to throw a bucket of water on your head, silly," Pinkie said, her smile back on her face.
"I'm sorry if I worried you, but my heart rate was rising and I needed to calm down," Banner said with a shamefaced grin.
"Why do you need to keep your heart rate low?" Twilight asked in confusion. Banner let out a sigh, not sure where to begin. He sat down cross-legged on the floor, so he could look the two ponies in the eyes.
"I have a...conditon. If my heart rate reaches over two hundred beats per minute...bad things happen," Banner said in a mutter, trying to keep his voice level.
"Like a heart condition?" Twilight asked. Banner grasped onto her idea.
"Yes, like a heart condition. It only happens when I get surprised, hurt...or angry. If I don't stop it early, it quickly consumes my entire body. The after effects are...bad," Banner said in a whisper. Twilight and Pinkie both gave him a sympathetic look, the former putting a hoof on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Doctor Banner, I didn't know. Is that why you didn't want the needle at the doctor's office?"
"Yes, that's the reason. Any form of pain at all can trigger the attack. I'm lucky it didn't happen when the snake bit me," he muttered, looking at the already-closed wound.
"Is a side effect of the disease that your eyes turn green?" Twilight asked innocently. While he didn't show it on the surface, Banner was terrified on the inside. His eyes had been changing and he hadn't known about it? How many times today did that happen? How many times had he put this town in danger of a possible rampage? That settled it; he'd leave tonight.
"Yes, that is a side effect," Banner said, answering Twilight's question. "So I can't be hurt or allowed to get angry. Also," he muttered, turning to Pinkie, "No surprises."
"Well, I think you should go home and rest," Pinkie instructed Banner, ignoring his warning. Rest sounded good to him, so he nodded in agreement.
"Well, let's head back to my place," Twilight said with a small smile.
"How are we supposed to get past the media?" Banner asked. Twilight gave him a bigger smile.
"Oh, just you wait and see," she said, her horn crackling with power. One flash of light later and the two were gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@@~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside Twilight's tree, a briliant flash of light lit up the room, momentarily illuminating the dark place. When the light died down, Twilight and Banner stood in the center of the room, one tired and the other terrified.
"What the hell was that!?" Banner yelled, trying to keep his temper under control.
"I just teleported us, it's no big deal," Twilight said.
"Well next time I'd like a little warning before you do something like that. Remember my condition? NO surprises," he said with a growl. He wasn't mad that she had teleported them; he was angry that she had in advertently put her life at risk with that move. Twilight rolled her eyes and started to head upstairs.
"Well your sleeping bag is where you left it. I'm going to bed."
"I'm leaving," Banner stated flatly. That stopped Twilight in her tracks and she spun around to find Banner heading for the door. She quickly rushed down the stairs and put herself between him and the door.
"Wait, you can't go! If this is about the teleportation thing, then I'm sorry!" she tried to dissuade him, but to no avail.
"It's not about the teleportation, it's that...I need to go. Don't ask me why, but it's better for everyone if I do." Banner tried to step past Twilight, but she refused to move.
"Better for everypony? Banner, since you got here this morning, you've done nothing but help others. You stopped that snake from biting Fluttershy, you helped out Rainbow Dash with Gilda, and you saved a foal's life in the hospital. Even though I haven't known you long, I know that you would never do anything to hurt us."
"You're right, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. That's why I have to go," Banner said sadly. He tried to get by her again, but Twilight held her ground with determination in her eyes.
"Alright Banner, if you really want to go, I won't stop you. But you have the potential to do so much good for pony kind. Maybe that's why you were brought here in the first place--to help us." Banner thought about what the pony had said. It was true that since he had arrived only a day ago, he had helped a lot of ponies. Besides, when he fell to the planet, the Hulk had barely tried anything. Maybe this was a place where he could finally be at peace. Maybe.
"Alright, one more day, that's it," he gave in at last. Twilight let out a happy squeel and clapped her hooves together.
"Great! I'll let you get some sleep, so, um, goodnight," Twilight said awkwardly, running back up the stairs. Banner sighed and lay down on his bed as the lights in the tree house went out. He didn't know why he had agreed to stay longer, all he was doing was putting the ponies at risk. And why had Twilight wanted him to stay so badly? What was she hiding from him?
Banner sat back up, his racing mind preventing him from falling into slumber. He quietly stood up and went to pick a book off the shelf, when the basement door caught his eye. It had been the one room in the house he hadn't been to or seen yet, so he placed the book back on the shelf and opened the door to the basement. He slowly walked down the steps, relying on moonlight to light his path. When he reached the bottom, his eyes fell upon something completely unexpected--another contradiction to the technology that the ponies currently had. Banner was staring at some sort of analysis machine, which apparently hadn't been used in some time. Still, the chance to examine something that was more on his level of intellect was irresistible.
He started with the inner workings. He removed the back panel and looked inside, but couldn't see anything. He frowned and started to look around for a candle of sorts. He saw one on a shelf and picked it up, using the matches next to it to light it. Banner placed the candle near the opening and looked inside. The circuitry was old, but it was much more advanced than he had expected from a bunch of town ponies. What's more, the circuits weren't connected properly. Yes the machine worked, but it wasn't exerting its full power. Banner connected the wires in the proper order and smiled when the machine came to life with a hum. He stood back up, happy with his work.
"Doctor Banner, what are you doing?" Twilight asked from the top of the stairs in an annoyed voice. Her annoyance melted away into awe as she looked at the now functioning analysis machine, complete with a smiling Banner. She slowly walked down the stairs to the machine, rubbing her eyes to make sure it wasn't some sort of dream.
"You...you got it to work," she muttered, still awestruck.
"Yep, but it took me a few seconds longer than I'd like to admit. A lot of those wires were in the wrong place," Banner said with a smile. Twilight walked over to the front, reading the data as it came out on a sheet of paper.
"How did you fix it?" she eventually asked him. Banner gave her another smile.
"Please, I study advanced forms of radiation. I'd have to wear a bag on my head if I couldn't fix your machine," he joked. Twilight now saw Banner in a new light. Not only was he a nice guy and fun to have around, but in his brain was also a cornucopia of knowledge--knowledge of not only her world, but also his world.
"Advanced radiation? What are you talking about?" Twilight asked, still trying to process what Banner had done.
"Are you saying you ponies know nothing of all the advanced radiations out there?" he asked in disbelief. He raised an eyebrow when Twilight shook her head.
"Twilight, get out some candles and prepare for an all-nighter, because you and I have some things to discuss," Banner instructed her with a smile, heading back up the stairs. Twilight quickly followed and the two began to engage in scientific speak. What neither of them had noticed was that the machine had finished its scanning and had produced its results. The results showed a massive spike in gamma radiation only a few seconds before...
...and they were predicted to spike again soon.
Banner and Pinkie headed down the street, which Banner noticed was incredibly quiet. He looked up at the sun to find that is was almost high noon. Where was every pony? Pinkie didn't seem to notice or just simply didn't care, as she happily skipped down the street with a smile on her face, humming to herself. Banner wondered why the lack of ponies didn't bother her, it was almost like she knew about the-...Ah, this was her doing. She was planning a surprise of sorts for him. Might as well play along.
"Wow, quiet today, isn't it?" Banner asked in a carefree tone. He smiled inwardly when suspiscion flashed in Pinkie's eyes.
"I know, it's like everypony went somewhere and didn't invite me," Pinkie said with a frown, but it quickly turned back into a smile. "The nerve of some ponies, going somewhere secret and not inviting us."
"I know. It's almost like they're all at...a SURPRISE party or something." Banner smiled when he saw Pinkie's eyes widened and he put on the most innocent face he could when she turned to look at him.
"Yeah, a surprise maybe," Pinkie muttered in a suspicious tone. Banner knew that he shouldn't ruin Pinkie's surprise for him, but it was so much fun messing with her. From her insistance on getting to the bakery, plus the fact that there was nopony around, Banner had already deduced that she was planning a surprise party for him--which was nice, but it felt entirely unnecessary. He snapped out of his thoughts when they reached the bakery.
"Alrighty, let's head on inside," said Pinkie as she started to open the door, but Banner put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"You go inside, I'm just going to take a moment to soak in the sun." Pinkie gave him a look, then opened the door to the place and headed inside. Banner waited until the door was completely closed before he circled around the building and went into the kitchen's back entrance. All the lights in the house were out, but there was enough light from the window for him to see clearly. He reached the door to the main room and quietly opened it. He smiled to himself when he saw all the ponies hiding in the shadows waiting to surprise him. All the ponies he had met from the previous day were there as well. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy; even Twilight was hiding in a corner. Looking around at all the ponies waiting for him, Banner's mischievous side took over and he crawled over to Rarity, who was in the closest.
"What are we doing in the dark?" he whispered to her.
"Ssshhh! We're going to surprise Doctor Banner when he comes in here with a surprise party. Be quiet or you'll ruin it," Rarity hissed in a whisper.
"Why are we giving him a party?"
"Because, he's been so nice since he arrived and has been helping everypony since he got here. Between saving Fluttershy and saving the foal at the hospital, he's been an incredible...human. Honestly, weren't you there when Pinkie explained...?" Rarity's voice trailed off as she turned and saw Banner next to her with a smile on his face.
"KKKKYYYYAAA!" Rarity screamed, jumping into the air and backing into a wall. All the ponies in the room jumped at the sound of the scream and spun around to face a smiling Banner.
"Hi, everypony," Banner said with a smile, standing back up. All the ponies looked at him in surprise, while one pink pony walked up to him in a fury.
"BANNER!!! YOU RUINED MY SURPRISE!! AND AFTER I SPENT SO LONG PLANNING!!!" Banner was scared. He had assumed that Pinkie was a carefree kind of pony that was hard to get angry. Apparently she was serious about her parties. He made a mental note not to ever ruin another one of her surprise parties.
"Sorry, I was just so happy that you were throwing a surprise party for me, I wanted to give you a surprise in return," he lied. In truth, Banner had been surprised so many times since he had arrived that he wanted to surprise someone else for once. Pinkie narrowed her eyes and frowned, but eventually turned back to the other ponies with a smile.
"Alright everypony, now that Banner's here, LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!" Everypony in the room cheered and Pinkie flipped on the lights, starting the party. The moment he could see, Banner's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. The place was filled with ponies of all shapes and sizes, as well as some of the most delicious treats that any pony had ever seen. But what touched Banner the most was that there was a banner (ironic right?) hanging above the ponies' heads that read,
"Welcome to Ponyville, Dr. Banner."
He was moved. These ponies were really trying to welcome him into their home, trying to make it feel like he belonged, even though he was an outsider, even though he was alien to them. He smiled at the banner and looked around at all the ponies partying. While most looked at him and smiled, he noted some that didn't seem to like him. He noticed that a seafoam green pony had been trying to get his attention, but the scene of the party drastically changed in an instant. The door to the bakery was opened with a bang and two ponies in golden armor stepped inside.
"Mares and Gentlecolts, Princess Celestia!" They announced. The two then moved to the side to let the most incredible pony that he had ever seen enter the room. She was as tall as he was, with a white gleaming white coat and an incredibly colorful mane. She had pegasi wings and a unicorn's horn, which meant she was an alicorn. When he looked her in the face, he saw a peaceful creature, but an incredibly powerful one at that. She looked at Banner with a smile and entered the room. As she did, all the other ponies in the room bowed, confirming what Banner had guessed--she was their superior and their leader. Some of the bowing ponies looked up at him and motioned for him to do the same, but he didn't budge. Dr. Banner would never bow of his own free will. Not now; not ever. After a moment of looking at each other, Celestia was the first to break the silence.
"So what my student told me was true. You are a human," she said in a silky voice. Banner looked back at Twilight, who gave him a sheepish grin in reply.
"Yes, I am a human. My name is Banner," he replied in a careful tone, not sure of what to say to an alicorn. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"So I see," she muttered in a curious tone. "I noticed that unlike my ponies, you did not bow when I entered. Why is that?"
"Let's just say there is a side of me that will never bow to anyone," Banner replied curtly. He could feel the tension in the room shift. The ponies were looking at the two with worried glances, not liking where the conversation was going.
"I can see it in your face. You know how powerful I am. Do you not fear me?" she asked in a whisper, waiting curiously for his answer.
"The only thing I fear is myself," Banner said in a whisper as well, looking the princess straight in the eyes. Then, much to the surprise of everypony in the room, something incredible happened. Celestia smiled at him.
"You are truly how Twilight described you: Brave, smart and unyielding. One who only fears himself." Then she did another thing that surprised all the ponies in the room; she bowed to Banner.
"Is it all right for the ruler of the ponies to be bowing to me?" Banner asked in amusment.
"You have saved three of my subjects, from what I have heard, and you have been kind to all the others you have met, even when they did not show such kindness in return. I bow to say, 'thank you.'" She rose back to her full height and looked around at all the watching ponies.
"I thought this was supposed to be a party?" she asked with a smile. The ponies all relaxed after she said this and started to go back to partying. Celestia nodded her head to one of the empty tables and went over to sit down. Banner walked over and pulled out a chair, joining her.
"So, Twilight tells me that you have knowledge of very advanced forms of science. May I hear some of it?" Banner smiled at her request and began to tell her of all the amazements that his world had created. He told her of what he had told Twilight, of the planes, cars and spaceships. However, Banner noticed that Celestia seemed to take more interest in the humans he spoke of rather than the technology. Banner noticed that while he was speaking with the princess, almost none of the other ponies dared to approach him or the princess. Only Twilight and her friends seemed comfortable speaking with her. They shared some interesting conversations, telling Banner of their past adventures, before wandering back off to the party.
The oddest part was when the seafoam pony came up to the two and asked Banner an interesting question.
"Hi there, I'm Lyra," she said with a huge smile, barely able to contain her excitement at the sight of him. "I study humans and am personally a huge fan of you guys. Well, I only study ancient scrolls and such since there are no actual humans here, except there are now!" She went on like that for another five minutes until she seemed to realize that Princess Celestia was watching her with a smile. She apologized for interrupting and left, telling Banner that he'd see a lot of her in the future. While the party continued, Banner had been telling Celestia about computers when the bakery door was once again opened. All turned to look at the orange pony standing in the doorway. She glanced around until her eyes rested on Banner, after which she slowly moved over to where he was.
"Ah, Applejack, how is your grandmother doing?" Celestia asked in a kind tone.
"S-she's fine, yer majesty," Applejack stuttered. Banner noticed that she was looking at him the entire time she spoke.
"What?" he asked her. She slowly took off her hat and looked at Banner with pure gratitude in her eyes.
"Dr. Banner, ah just wanted to say...thank you fer saving my grandma's life." After she said this, she walked over to Banner and gave him a hug around his waist. Everypony in the room "awed" as Banner patted her gently on the back.
"Thank you, she's...she's all ma brother, my sister and I have left. So..thank you again." He could feel the gratitude coming from deep within the pony's heart; gratitude that he had saved someone important to her. All the other ponies started to applaud Banner, expressing their feelings for what he did. Even Celestia nodded at him. All these ponies had accepted him, finally giving him a place to be at peace. Banner looked around and smiled, finally feeling that he had been accep--
'Banner.'
Banner's face drained of all color as the voice echoed through his head and he staggered out of his chair, backing into the wall. He must have been quite the sight, as the other ponies moved forward to catch him.
"Dr. Banner, are you alright?" Celestia asked in concern. Banner fought to remain vertical, as he could feel Hulk's presence begging to surface.
"I'm...fine. Do you have a bathroom I could use?" He asked Pinkie. Pinkie pointed down a hallway and Banner bolted to it, closing the stout door and locking himself in the bathroom. He staggered to the sink and gripped its edge to remain standing. His grip began to crack the sink and he slowly tried to breath normally.
'What do you want, Hulk?' Banner asked in his mind.
'Out,' the angry voice replied. Banner scoffed to himself.
'Out? After all you have done? I'm not letting you out, Hulk. Not in this world.' Then Banner heard a sound that scared him to his core. Hulk was laughing.
'Here with the ponies or in the woods. Banner's choice, but Hulk will be out.' Banner realized that Hulk wasn't giving him a choice and letting him out in the town would be a disaster. He would need to get to the forest fast.
'Alright, but give me a minute.' He felt the rage subside, so he had only a few minutes to get to the forest. Banner opened the door and walked swiftly down the hallway, back into the room with all the ponies waiting for his return.
"Dr. Banner?" Celestia asked.
"If you all would excuse me, I need some fresh air. If any of you need me, please don't. I will be in the Everfree Forest," he said quickly, before rushing out of the house and sprinting towards the forest. He didn't care what the ponies were thinking; the only thing he cared about was getting out of there. Now, while Banner isn't the strongest hero as himself, that doesn't mean he isn't physically fit. He could run. And he used his running skills to go into a dead sprint to the forest. It took him about five minutes to reach the forest, where he leaned against a tree to regain his breath.
"Okay Hulk, we're here. Now will you-GGGGGRRRAAAAAHHHHH!" he cried out in pain as the transformation began. Gamma radiation began to flood through his body, causing massive spasms all over. He fell to his knees as his muscles began to expand at a rapid pace, tearing through his shirt and pants. His skin and hair turned to a forest green as the gamma infused cells supercharged on radiation. He body grew to nearly nine feet in height and the ground cracked beneath his body as his weight nearly multiplied by ten. His face contorted into a rage-filled snarl, while his eyes turned a deep green. Banner's mind was the last to go, as his conscious was replaced by one far more angry than he.
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" the fully transformed Hulk roared, shaking the forest to its core. Animals fled in terror and birds scattered in all directions, trying to get away from the monster. Hulk snarled and rose to his feet, lumbering off into the forest. His massive gait knocked over any trees that got into his way as he pushed his way though.
"Puny Banner tried to contain Hulk. But Hulk is too strong for Banner." Banner didn't respond, as his conscious had been repressed for a while, just like after every transformation. Hulk looked around as he walked, taking in the environment of the new world.
"Stupid world too colorful for Hulk. Hulk hate colorful things," he growled. He rooted both feet into the ground and pushed off with his massive legs, launching himself into the air. He climbed high into the sky, feeling the wind rush through his hair, before he reached the zenith of his leap and came crashing down back into the ground. He landed with a smash, creating a massive shockwave that blasted the trees around him into oblivion. He rose back up and started to move foward, not noticing that the terrain had changed. The ground was now marsh like and watery, complete with frogs and swamp water. Hulk had arrived in the swamps and had alerted the presence of a very angry monster. The monster arose from its lair to find the intruder in its territory, planning on destroying it. It would be the last thing it ever did.
All of it made him angry. The water, the bugs, the playing animals, and most of all, those cute ponies that tried so hard to be nice to Banner. They wouldn't be nice to Banner if they knew that Banner wasn't alone, that Hulk was with Banner. But Hulk was tired of this bottled up rage. He wanted to unleash it on something, on someone who was foolish enough to not leave him alone. As if Heaven decided to answer the green monster's request, a massive footstep fell behind the Hulk and a loud roar followed. Hulk turned around with a grin to find a massive four headed beast standing behind him, all eight eyes glaring at him with rage.
"HHHHIIIIIISSSSS!" all four heads roared at him, venom dripping from their maws.
"GGGGGRRRRRAAAAAHHHH!!" Hulk roared back. The strength of his roar was strong enough to make the hydra flinch. Always, always something trying to attack Hulk, wanting to trap or make Hulk hurt. Always something that believed that it could stop Hulk, that it was stronger. But Hulk was strongest, why could no one understand that?
"Puny hydra think it can hurt Hulk? Hulk tear hydra in two!" Hulk roared, leaping into the air towards the hydra. The creature watched his angle and swung its neck into Hulk mid-jump, catching him and knocking him into a cliff face. The cliff shattered under his massive frame, bringing tons of rubble and rocks down upon him. The hydra raised all four heads into the air and let loose a victory cry, believing it had won. How wrong it was. It barely had moved its heads when a huge chunck of rock slammed into the side of one of the heads, slamming it into the other three. While the hydra tried to recover, Hulk burst through the rubble and landed in front of the hydra, fury written into his features.
"PUNY HYDRA IS WEAK! HULK IS STRONGER THAN HYDRA! HULK SMASH!" The hydra hissed and one of the heads tried to bite him, grabbing him in its jaws. Hulk smiled and pushed against the creature's jaw, pushing it open enough for him to escape. But Hulk didn't stop going until he heard the crack of a jaw being broken. The hydra screeched and dropped him, backing up as the head with the broken jaw shrieked in pain. Hulk landed at the creature's feet and slammed his fist into its knee, shattering the bone and causing the hydra to collapse. He ran up to one of the heads and began to pull, the creature roaring in pain as the bone and skin began to rip and break.
"Puny hydra still think it strong? Hulk is much stronger than hydra!" Hulk roared, taking a massive step back and tearing the hydra's head clean off. The creature stumbled back away from the Hulk, the other three heads roaring in pain as well as rage. Hulk went in for another attack, but Banner's voice stopped him.
'Hulk, it's beaten, let it go,' Banner said to him in a calm tone. Hulk snarled and walked up to the bleeding hydra, kicking it in its bad leg and grabbing on to another head.
"It try to hurt Hulk, it get smashed!" Hulk roared as he tore off another head, tossing it off into the distance. He watched as the hydra hissed at him in rage, but also with fear.
'Hulk, let it go.' Much to Banner's surprise, Hulk growled at the hydra one last time before jumping off of it and starting to head to the forest. The hydra on the other hand shot out one of its heads to bite the Hulk, snapping its jaw shut around his arms.
"HULK GAVE YOU CHANCE! NOW HULK SMASH!" Hulk roared as he tore the hydra's head in half by flexing his arms, spraying blood everywhere. Hulk then jumped into the air over the fallen beast, crashing back down onto its stomach with an earth-shattering impact. He heard the creature's bones shatter and was fairly certain that its internal organs were now mush. The hydra went for one last hiss, but a devastating punch from Hulk silenced the creature for good. Hulk removed its last head for good measure. Just because he could, Hulk lifted the hydra's body over his head and tossed it off into the distance, letting loose a roar as it sailed out of view.
'Hulk, you could have thrown that into Ponyville. What about all the ponies there?' Banner asked, his voice echoing throughout Hulk's mind.
"Banner talk too much," Hulk muttered, stomping on the hydra head as he walked off into the forest. Hulk was still snarling and frowning, but Banner could feel that his rage was beginning to wear off and that he would probably be reverting back to his regular self soon.
'Hulk, would you really have gone wild in the sweet shop?' Banner asked nervously, afraid of Hulk's answer.
"Hulk no care about ponies. All Hulk wants is to be alone," he grumbled in reply. That's what Banner feared and the reason why he couldn't stay in Ponyville. Hulk just didn't care for the animals' lives; he just didn't seem to care in general. Banner shruddered at the thought of a 'pissed-off' Hulk running through the peaceful streets of Ponyville, crushing all the ponies underneath as they fell to his wrath. He needed to calm down the giant.
'Hulk, you should try to be nice to them. Yes, some of them are a little annoying, but they mean well and are willing to be friends to almost anyone. They would probably even try to be friends with you if you gave them the chance.' Hulk laughed at the thought.
"Hulk no have friends! All Hulk's friends try to hurt Hulk, try to lock Hulk away! Hulk have to smash friends so others will leave him alone!" That was the answer that Banner had been expecting, but it still was sad to hear. Of course, Hulk had every reason not to trust others, since every friend he had ever made had betrayed him at one point or another, but it was still sad that he wouldn't try. Hulk continued his angry march through the forest, scaring away all of the wildlife. Then he came across something that startled both him and Banner. A pony was standing in the middle of the forest, right on the path they were walking. It was a silverish color and was covered in an equally silverish coat, with a hood that covered her face. Both Hulk and Banner could feel a weird power radiating off of her, a power that made even Hulk cautious of her. And while most ponies had a cutie mark, this one did not. While Banner wondered what she was doing here, Hulk just snarled.
"If puny pony wish to live, puny pony better leave Hulk alone!" he snarled at her, flexing his muscles. She simply continued to stare at him, her hidden eyes seeming to look right through them. Hulk roared and charged the pony, lifting his fist into the air once he was upon it, and slammed into onto the pony. The entire forest shook with the force of the impact, knocking over a multitude of tress and causing a massive crater where she had been standing. Hulk looked down only to find that the pony was gone. He growled and looked around, spotting it behind him.
'I was hoping that you would be more than what you seemed to be,' she said eerily, her mouth never moving. 'But now I see that you are just a monster.'
"You want monster? HULK SHOW YOU MONSTER!" Hulk leapt into the air and again tried to slam both his fists into her. Her body crackled with power and a blinding flash emerged from her, blinding the Hulk. He held up one of his massive hands to block the light, roaring in protest. When the light died down, Hulk found no trace of the silver pony, no matter what direction he looked. She was simply gone. Hulk looked around for a minute before growling to himself and heading deeper into the forest.
Twilight walked through the streets nervously, wondering to herself where Banner had gone. He had been looking pale after he had run out on them, but more importantly he had looked scared. She didn't know what could have scared him. None of the ponies had tried to be mean and he seemed to be enjoying himself for a while. Was his heart acting up or had something else happened?
"What's the matter, Twilight?" Pinkie asked, seeming to materialize in front of her.
"I don't know, Pinkie, I'm worried about Banner," Twilight said with a sigh, walking past her friend and looking out at the forest. "Something's wrong, but I don't know what. And I know that if I try to ask, he won't tell me. We're supposed to be friends, so why won't he confide in me?"
"Maybe he's just scared. I know a lot of ponies who are scared when they come to a strange place and are afraid to talk to others. And nopony came here in a weirder way than Banner. Maybe all the fears got to him?"
"You know what? You're right Pinkie. I hadn't considered that, but maybe he is feeling scared at the moment. He's far from home and in a world full of creatures he knows nothing about. Argh, why didn't I see it sooner? Come on, let's go see if we can find him!" She looked to Pinkie with a smile on her face, but Pinkie was looking off into the distance with a confused look.
"Hey, Twi? Can hydra's fly?" she asked.
"What? No, hydras are bipedal creatures incapable of flight. Why do you ask?"
"Because nopony seemed to tell that hydra that it couldn't fly!" Pinkie yelled as she pointed. Twilight looked to where she was pointing and watched as a hydra sailed through the air. Her eyes widened as it came crashing down in the center of the town, scaring the ponies around them. Twilight prepared to use her magic in case the beast was hostile, but after it landed, she saw there was no movement from it. The two of them gently approached the creature and almost lost their lunches at what they saw.
"It's...it's dead," Twilight whispered as she looked at the headless creature that was still bleeding. She tried to investigate further when she heard a sound from off in the distance.
...rrrrrrroooooaaaaarrrrrr...
"That came from the forest," she muttered to herself, wondering if that was the creature that had killed the hydra.
"Isn't that where Banner went?" Pinkie asked her. Twilight's heart dropped when she heard that, realizing that Banner had headed off into the forest where that creature now was. She sprung into action, sprinting towards the forest with Pinkie on her tail.
"We have to find Banner! Hopefully before whatever ripped apart that hydra does!" she yelled to Pinkie, both of them sprinting through the forest. After a minute of running, they came across where the hydra had been killed and this time they did lose their lunches when they saw the hydra's heads lying there. Twilight did her best not to look at the heads while she searched for clues as to where Banner was. Her eyes rested on a massive footprint in the ground, one that she had never seen before. As much as she wanted to analyze it, she knew that Banner's safety was more important. She whistled for Pinkie to come over and the two headed off in the direction of the footprint. They stopped again at a massive crater that they found in the ground, with two fist imprints in the center of it. Twilight was growing more and more worried with each moment, running as fast as she could. The two burst out of the forest and into a clearing, panting and desperately looking around. Then she saw him, laying face down on the ground.
"Dr. Banner!" she cried as she and Pinkie ran to his side. His clothes were torn apart and he looked exhausted, but other wise he seemed to be alright. She rolled him over and placed an ear near his heart, letting out a sigh of relief when she heard his heart beating. "He's alright, just unconscious," she told Pinkie, who also let out a sigh of relief. "But he can't stay here. Come on, let's get him back to the town." Twilight used her magic to levitate Banner and turned back to the town. Pinkie went to follow her when she noticed something in the ground. It was similar to the foot print that they had seen earlier, but smaller. It looked almost like Bruce's footprint.
Banner groaned as he woke up, mumbling to himself and looking around. He was inside of Twilight's house again and seemed to have been placed in her bed. He felt terrible, just like every other time the Hulk's rage receded. He groaned and sat up, looking around the room. He could hear voices coming from downstairs and it sounded like they were talking about him. So he stood up and went to the stairs, sighing when he noticed that his clothes were ripped apart. He opened the door and headed down the stairs, his appearance gaining him the ponies' attention.
"Dr. Banner!" Twilight called out as she rushed to his side, allowing him to lean against her. "I didn't know you were awake. How are you feeling?"
"Tired," he muttered, letting her help him down the stairs and into a chair. He looked around to find that all of Twilight's friends and Princess Celestia were there, each of them looking at him with concern. "Ugh, what happened?"
"We were hoping that you could answer that question yourself, Dr. Banner," Celestia said softly. "When my student and her friend found you, you looked like you had been attacked by a pack of Timberwolves." Banner could feel himself begin to sweat. He didn't want them to know about the Hulk. If they did, they'd hunt him, try to weaponize him.
"And even though ah know ya won't, don't try lying. Ah can tell," Applejack said sternly. Now he knew that he was trapped. Twilight had said that Applejack could tell when a pony was lying. He decided that he would tell them the truth...his portion of it.
"Alright, you win. The reason you found me in the state I was in was because of a certain monster. A monster that follows me no matter where I go," he said in a whisper, head in his hands.
"Dr. Banner, what is this monster and why is it after you?" Fluttershy asked.
"Because it blames me for its existence, which is fair. I was responsible for bringing the monstrosity into this...my world...And it hates me for it. So it follows me, no matter where I go, no matter where I try to hide, it finds me. And then...this happens and destruction is all that is left in its wake." The ponies glanced at each other nervously, not liking the sound of this.
"Dr. Banner? Do you know this creature's name.?" Banner sat there for a minute before whispering a name so softly that none of the ponies could hear it. They looked at each other before asking him to repeat it. When he whispered it again, they decided to be more direct. "Doctor, please tell us this creature's name. We only wish to help you."
"There is no help, just as there is no escape from him," he said in a broken tone. "He's always there."
"Dr. Banner, please. Who is after you?" Fluttershy asked, looking into his eyes. He looked away and closed his eyes.
"...Hulk..." he whispered. The ponies looked at each other with a bit of confusion. Hulk didn't sound like that bad a threat.
"Who, or what, is the Hulk?" Rainbow Dash asked him.
"The Hulk is the ultimate creature of destruction," Banner said, as memories of what the Hulk had done flashed through his mind.,,all those that had been killed...his friends...his Betty...so many hurt, so many dead...
"Come on, you're exaggerating," Twilight said with a grin. "How bad can he be." The look that Banner gave Twilight would haunt her dreams for days. It was a look of rage, a look that could only be mirrored by one creature.
"How bad can he be?" Banner asked in a cold rage, Twilight backing away from him. "How about he's so bad that he is the number one most wanted criminal in all my world! How about he's so bad that he tears down cities and destroys families! How about that he's so bad that he can kill GODS! That's how terrible he is!" Banner realized that he had almost reached the point of no return and let out a sigh, taking control of his emotions and sitting back down, tired. The ponies were looking at him carefully, surprised by his sudden outburst. Pinkie walked over to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.
"Hulk took away your family, didn't he?" she asked soflty.
"Yes," he whispered, placing his face in hands. "And my home...and my life."
"He took everything away from you?" Rarity asked.
"He blames me for his creation, so he will follow me to the ends of the world. No matter where I go, he will be there. That's why I need to keep moving...why I can't stay here." Bruce stood up and went to leave, but Celestia walked in front of him.
"Dr. Banner, while you have not been here long, you have already become a part of these ponies' lives," she said. "You are their friend and have helped them out in a number of ways. You have helped them, so I will help you. I will battle and defeat this Hulk creature." Celestia smiled at him, hoping her words would comfort him, but he just stared at her in disbelief. Then he began to laugh, a hysterical laughter that doubled him over. They all looked at him as if he were crazy while he tried to regain control.
"What is so funny?" she asked him.
"Y-you have no idea what you're dealing with," Banner chuckled, holding his ribs. "The Hulk cannot be beaten. He is an unstoppable force of nature, a walking earthquake. No one has been able to keep him down, and even if they could he only comes back stronger."
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"The angrier Hulk gets, the stronger he gets," Banner said almost instantly. "And because there is no limit to how much rage a being can have..."
"He essentially has unlimited power," Twilight finished. "Do you know where he is?"
"He only shows up when he wants to; other times you can never find him. That's why I need to leave," Bruce said again, trying to get past Celestia, but the other ponies walked in front of him. "Look, it's not like I want to leave, but as long as I stay here, you'll all be in danger."
"We're always in danger, Bruce. That's what happens when you are protectors of the land," Twilight said with a shrug. "But if there is one thing I've learned since I came here, it's to cherish your friends. And even though we just met you...we all consider you a friend." Each of the ponies nodded in agreement as Banner looked at them. "You're our friend Banner and you've helped us so much. Please, let us help you." Banner knew it was a bad idea, that he should leave now before Hulk came back again. But as he looked into these ponies' eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say 'no.'
"Alright, I'll stay."
The Moon Shall Rise Again
...smash...
Dr. Banner looked up at the roof of Twilight's house, hearing the faint whispers of Hulk's voice echo through his mind, a reminder to Banner that he was still in there, waiting. Banner rolled over and looked out the window at the night sky, wondering if what he did was right. He knew full well of the Hulk's destructive powers, yet he was still staying at one of the pony's homes, putting her at risk. He had hoped that this world would be so peaceful, that it would be so nice that he would never have reason to get angry; never need to fear the Hulk. But now he knew...now he knew that the Hulk's wrath was too powerful for him. He needed to go. He rolled over onto his other side to get up...and came face to face with a silver mare.
"And you are?" he asked her, ready for trouble. She simply stood there, looking at him with a curious expression. Banner didn't know what to make of her. She was definitely the same pony that he and Hulk had seen back in the forest, but he didn't know why she'd be here. "Can I help you with something or are you just going to stare at me?" he asked.
'The same body, but not the same mind,' she mused to herself. Banner noticed that her mouth never moved even though he was sure he heard her voice. Up close and without the Hulk's rage, he noticed that there were also a number of strange markings on her body. Her cloak covered most of her body and nearly all of her face, leaving just enough space to show her eyes, her two white eyes. 'You are a good soul that tries to help despite your life. But you hold another soul that is the embodiment of chaos and destruction. I do not know whether to count you as a nice pony...or one who must be eliminated.'
"Trust me on this one, you don't want to pick a fight with me," Banner warned her with a sigh. "When I get angry, things around me tend to get smashed."
'I am fully aware of your other half's tendency to destroy, but he cannot harm me.'
"Many have said that, yet the Hulk found a way," Banner said with a dry chuckle and a shake of his head. "He'll smash you, just like everyone else."
'It is interesting,' she muttered, ignoring his warning and getting closer. 'You say not to anger you as a threat, but only because you wish to protect those around you. You only try to help others, but fear getting close to them.' Banner looked away from her with a sigh, knowing how much pain he had caused in his life by bringing the Hulk into the world.
"I've caused enough pain in my life," he said in a whisper, closing his eyes. "I just want to be alone, so that others won't get hurt when I snap."
'And yet you know that leaving would hurt them as well,' she remarked. Banner nodded, knowing that most of these ponies had already taken a liking to him. 'That is why you stay.'
"I don't like to hurt others," he whispered. "But the other me..."
'But the other you does,' she finished for him.
"Banner, who are you taking to?" Twilight asked him from the top of the stairs. He looked over at the silver mare, who was gone without a trace. He stared at the spot where she had vanished before looking up at Twilight.
"No one Twilight. Just talking to myself," he said, laying back down and going back to sleep.
---------=-------=--------=--------
Far away from Banner and far away from the ponies of Equestria, two dark forces were hard at work with a very dangerous ritual. They had put themselves inside of a temple that was once home to a very powerful force of evil. It was an ancient castle that over the years had fallen into a state of disrepair. Nopony in the area would dare to go near it, which made it the perfect hiding place for the two. While the evil had been vanquished, some of its great power was still around, and that power was all the two needed to put their plan into action.
"Did you get the required artifacts?" Chrysalis asked Discord, who had reappeared in the room smile first, then followed by the rest of his body. "Was that entrance really needed?"
"You just don't understand the chaos that cat could cause," Discord said with a chuckle, doing backstrokes over to Chrysalis and spinning his neck 180 degrees to look at her. "But to answer your question, yes I did get them." He reached inside of his maw and pulled out a fractured crown and a bag full of dark energy.
"Good. Now wait while I prepare the ritual," she said with a grin, heading for a circle she had made in the ground. Then she stopped and looked back at him. "I know that you're the Element of Chaos, but I don't want you to mess this up. It can only be done once every hundred years."
"Oh, Chrysy dear, you take all the fun out of things," Discord said with a sigh, looking into a mirror that showed another creature looking back at him. "I still say that it would be easier to flood the world with chaos than trying this tactic. It makes too much sense to go about it this way."
"And that is why they managed to defeat you," Chrysalis hissed. "Your powers may be greater than mine, but you have no mind for strategy. Everything you do is on instinct, you never plan!"
"Oh? How about when I split the Elements up and forced them to choose against what made them themselves?" he asked her. "Was that not tatical enough for you?"
"Oh, did that plan work in the end?" she said with a sneer.
"Worked about as well as you getting together as Twilight's brother," Discord shot back with a smirk. Chrysalis hissed and threw a chunk of wall at him, but he turned it into a bird and it flew away. "If you are done throwing things at me, we have a ritual to start." Chrysalis sighed in frustration and placed the artifacts on the ground in the center of the circle that they had made with blood, channeling her magic into her horn and firing it into the circle center.
"So, how are the kids?" Discord asked with a grin.
"Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate," she hissed, closing her eyes while trying to focus. Discord 'hmphed' and floated over to her. The circle had begun to glow with power and the artifact (which was a crown) was beginning to float. Chrysalis struggled to keep the spell active while Discord watched with a frown. She shouldn't have been having this much trouble with the spell if all the conditions had been met. He looked up at the sky, which should have been host to a red moon tonight. But instead the moon was its normal white color.
"Chrysalis, you may want to stop," Discord advised her, frowning at the moon. "Tonight's not the night." Chrysalis stopped her magic and looked up at the sky, her rage reaching a boiling point.
"What? No, tonight should be the night! It said so in the tomes I stole!"
"Well, apparently not. The moon should be red," Discord said with a sigh, pulling out a puppet on a string and starting to entertain himself. "Which means that your plan is completely bogus now. Can we please move on to flooding them with chocolate milk?"
"NO! We are not doing your stupid plan!" Chrysalis hissed back. The two began to bicker over who's plan was better, while unbeknownst to them the artifact that they had gathered was beginning to hum with power. Discord noted the artifact floating in the air and physically turned Chyrsalis' head towards it. The artifact was drawing in the power left over from the great evil, letting the conscious of the one trapped inside have the ability to speak again. Shadows engulfed the crown and allowed it to float above them. The crown scanned the room with magic, sensing the two watching it.
'So, I see that I have the two of you to thank for helping me to regain my senses,' it said in a menacing voice. 'As a reward, I'll let the two of you be my servants.'
"Please, we know that you are powerless at the moment," Chrysalis said with a chuckle. "Do not try to threaten us." The shadows surrounding the crown seemed to flicker in rage.
'You are...correct. I do not wield the power I once did,' it said with sigh, floating over to the circle. It used the dark magic to scan the circle that they had made to summon it. 'You foals! The blood you used for this spell is far too weak! I require a stronger blood source in order to be truely free!'
"This was the blood of the Griffon Queen! How am I supposed to find a blood source greater than that?" Chrysalis asked enraged.
"Well, you could always use yours," Discord suggested.
"My blood is to good for the ritual," she hissed. "Why do you not use yours instead?"
"Because, if my blood were to get into another creature, it would turn them into an agent of chaos with powers that would rival mine," Discord explained as he pointed at a screen that he conjured. "And while that would be good for chaos, two beings of pure chaos cannot exist in the same reality at the same time or else all of reality may collapse. I might try it when I get bored sometime, but not right now. Now would be bad for all of us."
'If the two of you are done fighting, I would like to ask why did you bother to summon me?' the shadow hissed.
"That's right, on to business," Chrysalis said with a smirk. "We require your...special skills to help us to overthrow the princesses. Discord failed a while back to defeat them when he was beaten by the Elements of Harmony."
"And Chrysalis lost to the power of love," Discord said with a snicker. "That's right, the big bad queen of the changelings lost to love." Chrysalis hissed and fired off a spell at him. Discord yawned and deflected it back at her with a very expensive hand mirror.
'Enough you two!' the shadow spat, stopping their fight. 'If you wish for my assistance to overthrow the princesses, then you will listen to me! First, we must find a blood source that is strong enough to resurrect me. Discord, I want you to do this.'
"Fine, but only if i can mess with the ponies while I'm doing it," he said with a grin, spinning himself in a circle and vanished, his smile being the last part of him to vanish.
'Chrysalis, I want you to prepare your forces and to infiltrate Canterlot again. Keep me informed of all that is going on.' Chrysalis hissed, but flew off out of the temple. The shadow watched her go with a growl, not believing that those two foals had been the one to find her. She floated over to her throne and placed her crown down upon the seat, allowing herself time to rest. She had been severely weakened, but enough of her power had remained to allow her to see into her other's eyes. If she could have smiled she would have done, knowing that soon the night would rule again.
--------=-----=------
Dr. Banner found that whenever he needed time to think, that experimenting with science was the solution. He had awoken just as the sun's rays had begun to shine through the window into the tree house. A life of fleeing had shaped him into a person who was used to moving first thing in the morning to stay ahead of those who were hunting him. But even though no one was hunting him, he still couldn't get back to sleep. So he wandered down into the basement where Twilight kept her machine and her bottles of magic. He walked over to them and bent over for a better look, observing how the glasses each held a different colored liquid.
"Interesting. These potions remind me a bit of chemistry," he muttered aloud, looking at the bookshelves over head. One worn book was called 'Advance Potion Mixing.' Banner took it off the shelf and quickly flipped through it, finding a recipe for a spell that looked interesting. "I guess that this will keep my mind off the Hulk for a while." Banner quickly looked over Twilight's labels to find the multiple potions required to make the recipe. He scooped them up in one hand while flipping on the fire underneath one of the vials with his other hand. He poured the four liquids from the bottles into the vial over the fire and tried to distract himself, but his doubts came creeping back in.
'I shouldn't be here,' he thought to himself, flipping the vial to the side and letting the contents pour into a bowl on the side. 'These ponies have been nice to me despite my being from another world...and that I brought what could possibly be the end of their world with me.' He scooped up the bowl and poured the combined liquids into another vial, placing that one over a small flame while he went for the next bottle without thinking. 'It's not right of me to do this. They have been so kind to me, I can't put their lives in danger by being here. I'll tell them that I need to leave by the end of the day. I hope they can forg--'
"Dr. Banner?" Bruce turned in mid-pour to find Twilight standing at the top of the stairs. She yawned and looked at him with a curious expression. "What are you doing in my lab so early in the morning?"
"I'm...just trying to calm my nerves," Banner said with a sigh, looking at the nearly completed potion. Twilight looked over at his work and walked down the stairs toward it, her eyes widening as she looked over the progress.
"You've...nearly completed a full-on invisibility potion! And on your first attempt!" she exclaimed excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. "It takes most ponies years to master making a potion like this. How did you--?"
"It's not much harder than the chemistry I used to do," Banner said with a sigh, hearing the Hulk's voice echo throughout his head again. "Look, Twilight, I appreciate that you are willing to give me a place to stay and find a job--a purpose--for me, but I really need to leave- before the Hulk finds me again. And if he resurfaces while I'm in town..."
"I know that you believe that you are protecting us, but we can protect ourselves," Twilight said with a smile, trying to convince him. "We've dealt with monsters and beings that were beyond our expectations, but we managed to pull through because we worked together and we fought as friends. Even if you don't believe in us, we know we can help you."
"Ugh...upstairs. We need to talk about the Hulk," Banner said, walking by her and up the stairs. Twilight followed him and Banner sat down at the table, indicating for her to sit. "First off, the Hulk is FAR out of your league. Even with the Elements, even with your princesses, you would die."
"What? But the Elements are the strongest--"
"You. Would. Die," Banner said in a whisper, telling her that there was no question about it. Twilight's eyes shrunk as she heard this and she pulled out a notebook, wanting to hear more.
"Can you tell me more about the Hulk? I want to know as much as I can in case I run into him."
"If you run into him, you're already dead," Banner said. "But I supposed a little information wouldn't hurt. The Hulk is a nine foot monstrosity that is made of muscle and rage. His skin is a pure green color and his rage is far beyond anything that you or anypony else has seen."
"Even stronger than Celestia?" Twilight baited.
"Hulk would use her as a toothpick," Banner said with certainty. Twilight wrote that down with fear, not liking the sound of the Hulk.
"Anything else I should know?" Twilight asked with a hint of fear.
"Yeah, I'm going to go to the market," Banner said, standing up and heading for the door. "Anything you want me to pick up?"
"No, but be on the lookout for the Hulk," Twilight warned him. If only she knew. "You got the bits I gave you?"
"Yes, thanks," Banner said, opening the door and heading out. He needed to leave soon. Twilight didn't know it, but when she had said even stronger than Celestia, Hulk had taken a personal offense at that. He feared for Celestia's life when the Hulk came back. Banner knew now that he couldn't stop him. Banner hoped that nothing anger-inducing would happen at the market...because Ponyville wouldn't survive.
...smash them all...
Banner closed his eyes and started to focus on breathing, ignoring the looks he had been getting from the ponies. Once the voice faded away from his mind, Banner opened his eyes again and continued walking. It was getting harder and harder to keep 'the Other Guy' subdued, and Banner feared that he was about to escape. He had gone to the market to buy his supplies for his departure and he had been told that today is when the most ponies were selling.
"Hi there, Dr. Banner!" a yellow pony with an orange mane said with a grin as he approached her stand. "What can I do for you today?"
"Twilight told me that you were having a sale today," Banner said, looking at her carrots. "I was hoping to buy a few."
"Certainly. How many would you like?" she asked with a grin.
"Just five for now."
"Okay." After she had filled up his bag and he had paid for them, he then headed over to Pinkie's. He didn't want to admit it, but her cupcakes were 'addicting.' He walked into the strange gingerbread house, looking towards the counter where a pony with what looked like icing on her head was behind the counter.
"Oh, hello there Dr. Banner," she said cheerfully. "Glad to see you again, especially after that episode you had yesterday. What can I do for you?"
"Just a few cupcakes to go please," he ordered. She rang him up and hoofed him the cupcakes. He thanked her and left, noticing how quiet the Hulk was. Was he resting? Or was he simply waiting for Banner to weaken? Bruce walked through the streets, waving at those who waved or said 'hi' to him. He was heading for his next shop when he heard someone cough. he turned around to find a griffon leaning against the building.
"Hey there, mister science pony," the griffon named Gilda said with a sneer, walking over to him. He backed away slightly, not liking the way she was angrily eyeing him. "The great brain that said, that flight school drop out was better than me, and who tricked me into crashing into a tree. I don't like it when others trick me," she growled at him, advancing towards him with malice in her eyes.
"Miss Gilda, I'm sorry if I offended you, but trust me when I say that you don't want--" Banners words were cut off when Gilda slapped him across the face and knocked him to the ground. He spat up a bit of blood and wiped his mouth on his arm, feeling his rage begin to build. "Miss Gilda, I am asking you politely. Please stop hitting me-" He was cut off again as Gilda slapped him across the face once more. Banner picked himself up off the ground, trying to keep his heartbeat under control.
"Get up, I'm not done with you," Gilda growled, watching as Banner got up. He had to get away, his heartbeat was getting faster and faster. He staggered to a wall and held out a hand, trying to keep her back.
"Gilda, please. I am telling you to stop for your own sake. Stop this, right now." He was using his most serious tone and he was certain that his eyes were beginning to flash green. But even if Gilda saw them, she was far too stubborn and far too enraged at him.
"Sorry, Banner, but I think I still have a few more hits left," she grinned. Banner backed away as she advanced, wondering what to do. She was much stronger than he was, he could feel that from her blows. But what concerned him more was that the voice in his head was getting louder. One more hit might just let Hulk loose.
"GILDA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Both Gilda and Banner turned towards the scream of rage. Twilight, Pinkie and RD were standing across the street, each of them foaming at the mouth. "What do you think you're doing, attacking Banner?" Gilda only smirked at them and looked at Banner.
"What am I doing? This," she said with a laugh as she unfurled her talons and slashed Banner across the arm. He cried out as the talons drew blood and he staggered back. Gilda laughed and then was immediately tackled to the ground by RD, who put her in an arm bar. Twilight and Pinkie rushed over to Banner, who had fallen to his knees, holding the wound. He growled at the pain, hating Gilda for attacking him.
"Dr. Banner! Hold on, we'll get you to the hospital," Twilight said quickly, looking over his wound.
"Are you alright?" Pinkie asked with concern on her face.
"Yeah, I think I'm--"
'Smash.'
"No," Dr. Banner said in a whisper, pushing the ponies away and taking up a meditative pose. He started to focus on his breathing, trying with all his might to push the rage back down.
'Smash!'
Banner fell to all fours, breathing heavily and starting to pant. His eyes began to flash green and he could feel his pulse racing. He moved one hand over his heart and began to breath heavily.
"No, his heart condition!" Twilight cried out, trying to levitate him. Banner looked out of the corner of his eye at them, feeling his subconscious begin to fade. "Banner! Hold on!"
"Twilight...Pinkie..." he groaned, trying to push her away.
"Don't worry, we're here. We'll get you to the-"
"Get...awAY FROM ME !" Banner roared as he pushed Twilight with such force that she was rocketed back. Pinkie, RD and Gilda all watched her fly away before they slowly turned back to Banner, who was writhing on the ground in agony. His skin began to turn green as his body expanded, ripping through his shirt and pants. He howled and slammed a fist into the ground, a misshapen green fist that cracked the pavement. Then he started growing. The ponies watched in terror as muscles expanded all over him and he grew to nearly nine feet in height. His hair and skin both turned green, just like the green they had seen in his eyes. Banner planted both feet into the ground and roared into the sky.
"GGGGGGRRRRRRAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!"
The entire town shook from the force of his roar, causing all the ponies that were out and about to run over, wondering what was going on. Banner stopped roaring and just stood there breathing, before slowly turning around to face the ponies. His face was full of rage and his green eyes were filled with a fury that had never been seen in Equestria to that day.
"W-what happened to him?" Gilda asked, all of her bravado gone as she stared into Banner's face.
"It's the Hulk," Twilight said in a whisper, recovering from the toss and having run back over to her friends. "Dr. Banner is the Hulk." The ponies watched with terror as the Hulk looked over all of them, his eyes narrowing when he saw Gilda laying on the ground.
"Puny griffon think it can hurt Hulk?" he asked her in a whisper. "HULK TEAR PUNY GRIFFON IN TWO!" he roared as he lifted both arms over his head, slamming them into the ground and knocking everypony within a mile off their hooves. He then snarled at the griffon and charged right for her. She screamed in terror and tossed RD off her back, taking to the sky to try and escape.
"BANNER, NO! Twilight cried out and used her magic to place a barrier between the Hulk and Gilda. The Hulk didn't even register the barrier as he ran right through it and continued his chase after the griffon. His eyes were so focused on Gilda that he wasn't even aware of the fact that he was running through multiple houses and apartments as he chased her, bringing them down behind. Ponies screamed as he came barreling by, with Twilight, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash behind him.
"For somepony so big, he sure moves fast," RD grunted as they struggled to keep up with the massive creature. Hulk roared as Gilda got farther and farther away, slamming one fist into the ground and launching himself towards the griffon. He sailed through the air, his arc was planned out so perfectly that he would have grabbed her if a blast of magic hadn't knocked him out of the sky. He collided with the ground and skidded for a bit, toppling even more buildings. He grunted and shook off the building that had collapsed on him, spinning towards his attacker with fury written into his features. Celestia stared down at him, recognizing him from Banner's description.
"So, you are the Hulk," she said with a glare, Hulk returning it with a growl. "Banner warned me about you and what you can do. But make no mistake, I will stop you."
"And now the ponies try to hurt Hulk, just like Hulk said!" Hulk roared as he charged at her. Celestia growled in return and threw up a shield around herself. Hulk barreled into her shield and it shattered instantly, throwing the princess across the ground. He leapt into the air to finish her off, bringing both fists down on her chest. His fists shattered the ground and sent out another massive shockwave, knocking over even more buildings. Hulk opened his eyes with a grin, only to find that the princess had vanished and had reappeared next to Twilight. "Why puny pony run? Fight Hulk!"
"He is indeed as strong as Banner said," Celestia said with a frown, bracing herself for another attack.
"Princess, that is Banner," RD said with fear in her voice.
"What?!"
"It's true! We watched him transform from being our friend Banner into that not so jolly green giant!" Pinkie agreed. Hulk roared and charged the ponies, forcing Celestia to open fire on him with her magic.
"Stop, you'll hurt him!" Twilight cried out. But Celestia's magic did the opposite of hurting the Hulk, for all it did was make him even angrier. Celestia and the other ponies looked on in terror as Hulk tanked through her spells and grabbed her by the throat.
"Why puny pony and griffon attack Hulk? LEAVE HULK ALONE!" He roared into her face, the force of his voice blew her mane back. Hulk lifted Celestia and threw her into the air roaring as he did so. Celestia caught herself and constructed a cage around the Hulk with her magic.
"Twilight, assist me," she commanded. Twilight nodded and reinforced her shield, forming a red and purple barrier around the Hulk. Celestia floated down in front of the Hulk, who had started punching the barrier with his might. "Do not bother Dr. Banner. I have already told you that even the Hulk cannot beat my magic."
"Why pony talk to Banner? Banner not here! Only Hulk here!" Hulk roared back, slamming his fist near her face. Celestia didn't flinch as his fist landed right in front of her.
"Listen to me Banner, I do not know why you are this beast, but you must control it." As she continued to talk to Banner, Hulk got angrier and angrier. He roared and brought his fist back again, slamming it into the barrier with all of his rage. Even with two powering it, the shield shattered under the force of the blow. The shockwave created by the impact launched the four horses across the ground, knocking Celestia, Twilight and RD out cold. Hulk looked down at them and then at all of the town that had been destroyed, a frown spreading on his face. Fires had started and ponies everywhere were panicking, their cries for help wracking his ears. But if he stayed, the would hurt him. He then turned and started to head for the woods off in the distance when a voice stopped him.
"Why Banner?" Hulk turned around to find Pinkie looking up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why did you do this? You're supposed to be our friend! Why did you destory my home? Answer me!"
"Puny Banner isn't here right now," Hulk answered with a growl, staring the pink pony down. "Only Hulk is here! And Hulk doesn't need friends!" He leapt off into the distance as he said this, crashing down in the forest a few seconds later. Pinkie watched him go with sadness in her heart, but also a growing curiosity. Banner, or Hulk, said that he didn't want friends, but to Pinkie that meant that he didn't have any. And a pony, or monster, without friends was somthing she couldn't allow. But first...
"Twilight! Rainbow Dash! Wake up!" she yelled into their ears. Twilight groaned and sat up, rubbing her head with her hoof. Rainbow Dash pulled herself out of the wall into which she had been tossed and fell to the ground, shakily getting to her hooves.
"Ugh, anypony get the number of that carrige that hit me?" RD asked weakly, shaking her head and staggering around a bit. Twilight shook her head as well and looked over at Celestia, who was still laying unconscious on the ground.
"Princess, are you alright?" Twilight asked as she walked over to her, waking her up and helping her to her hooves. Celestia groaned and looked around at all the destruction, a frown forming on her face.
"This is the third time in the past two months that this town has come under attack," she said with a sigh. "I had hoped that my frequent visits would keep most of the evil away, but..."
"But the Hulk is beyond anything that we've ever seen," Twilight finished for her, looking down at her hooves. "So that's the reason Banner wanted to leave so badly. Because he knew that if he stayed, that the Hulk would break free and destroy our home. But why didn't he tell us he was the Hulk?"
"Would you have believed him?" Celestia asked. Twilight thought about it for a minute before shaking her head. "He probably didn't tell us because he planned to leave as soon as he could."
"But I convinced him to stay," Twilight sighed. "He just wanted to keep us safe, but I selfishly kept him around. It's my fault that Ponyville has been destroyed."
"No, it's the Hulk's fault, silly," Pinkie said with a smile, bonking Twi on the head gently. "He's the one who ran through the buildings and tried to throw Celestia into space."
"Thanks for trying to cheer me up Pinkie, but it is my fault," Twilight said with a sigh. "Rainbow Dash, go gather the others. We're going to need all the Elements if we hope to...bring him down."
"Sure thing, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said before flying off into the distance. Celestia watched her go before turning her attention back to her student, who was hanging her head.
"Twilight, what is the matter?"
"It's my fault, Princess. If I had just listened to him instead of forcing him to stay, we wouldn't be having this problem," Twilight said sadly. "Now we have to go and stop him."
"It is one of the harder choices of being a leader," Celestia said with a sigh, wrapping a wing around Twilight. "Sometimes we must chose the greater good over our own needs."
"Yes, Princess. But I can't just sit by while this happens. Banner helped us when we needed him, so I'm going to help him. Fortunately, I have friends to help me. Right, Pinkie?" Twilight asked. She looked around to realize that the pink pony had vanished. Twilight looked at the ground to find her hoof prints and saw that they were heading for the forest that the Hulk had jumped into.
"Pinkie, what are you doing?!" Twilight asked as she and Celestia ran off into the forest after her.
With a massive roar, Hulk came crashing to the forest floor, once again scaring away all of the woodland creatures that lived there. He snarled and took off in a full sprint, tearing through trees and rocks, not caring what got in his way. He ran for a long time, never stopping until he was certain that he was far enough away from the town with those accursed ponies. Only when he thought that he was safe did he stop running and started to walk. He was in a wasteland now, with no trees and a cloudy sky over him. Hulk looked around with a sigh before marching on.
"Stupid ponies want to hurt Hulk, why can't they leave Hulk alone?" he muttered to himself, clenching his fists at the thought of how they attacked him.
'Because you destroyed their home,' Banner's voice echoed throughout his mind. 'And tore apart their city. And attacked their princess. And--'
"Puny man be quiet or Hulk smash you!" Hulk growled, turnung around and looking for Banner. When he couldn't find him, he snarled and continued to walk through the wasteland. Hulk didn't care that he had to fight the ponies, because Hulk knew that the ponies would try to hurt him in the end. Everyone else had done it, why would they be any different?
'You should give them a chance Hulk,' Banner said again, causing Hulk to growl. 'They are different than the people of Earth or anywhere else. Maybe here you won't have to be hurt or hunted.'
"That's what Banner always says about new place, but Hulk always will be hunted," Hulk said with a sneer. "Avengers, Hulk's planet, it not matter where Hulk go."
'But this place IS different! Hulk, these ponies are so much different than humans it's incredible. Their concern isn't war or domination. It's to help others and try to live their lives the best they can. If you gave them a chance maybe you could--'
"Puny man be quiet!" Hulk roared, slamming his fist into the ground. A massive shockwave formed from the impact and shook the land, also silencing Banner in the process. Hulk panted as he looked up, growling to himself. He then sighed and stood back up, continuing his walk. That's when he heard the voice.
"HEY!" Hulk growled and turned around to find the pink pony he'd seen earlier standing behind him, fire blazing in her eyes. "Hey there mister meany, why did you attack my home and friends? Why Banner?" Hulk snarled when he heard Banner's name and marched up to her, his nine foot frame completely overshadowing her as he glared down at her. Much to Pinkie's credit though, she never flinched.
"Puny pony should leave Hulk alone, before Hulk smashes puny pony," Hulk growled at her, pointing towards Ponyville.
"And Banner should tell me what he was thinking before I have to use my party cannon on you," Pinkie replied with an evil smile, staring straight into Hulk's eyes. Hulk's fury rose even higher at mention of Banner's name and he let loose a roar that shook the whole continent.
"BANNER NOT HERE RIGHT NOW! PUNY PONY SHOULD JUST GO AWAY!" Hulk roared, grabbing Pinkie and bringing her close to his face so she could see his rage.
"Okie dokie then, can I please talk to Banner? I want to know why he did what he did?" she asked with a smile on her face, not intimidated by the Hulk's rage.
"WHY CAN'T PUNY PONY UNDERSTAND!? BANNER NO HERE!" Hulk roared, tightening his grip on Pinkie and making her squeak in the process.
'Hulk, put her down and let me out,' Banner said softly, trying to calm the Hulk. 'She just want's to talk to me, there's no need to do this.' Hulk snarled, but then dropped the pony onto the ground. Pinkie sprang back up immediately and went right back to questions.
"Well, you certainly seem angry. But that's okay because everypony gets angry sometimes," Pinkie said with a grin. Hulk didn't know what he hated more, her smile or her cheerful manner. He turned to leave, tired of dealing with her, but she ran around in front of him and frowned.
"Oh no, you're not getting off that easily. I still need to talk to you about how sad you made everypony." Hulk's already thin patience was at its limit, and he was tired of hearing this pony talk. "So why are you so angry? Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed? That's happened to me before and I didn't like it either. Or maybe you--" She was cut off when Hulk grabbed her by the throat, but because his hand was so big that meant he grabbed about eighty percent of her.
"Puny pony be quiet," he whispered. Banner was immediately afraid. The only time Hulk ever whispered was when he was really annoyed. He prayed for Pinkie's sake that she kept her mouth shut. He didn't really know her that well.
"Maybe you need a nap? Maybe mommy and daddy could--" Hulk roared in fury and swung his arm that was holding Pinkie back, aiming for a lake that he spotted in the distance. He then threw her and watched as she went sailing off towards the lake. He smirked once she was out of view and turned around to continue his walk.
"GRAH!" he roared in shock as he jumped back. Much to his (and Banner's) surprise, Pinkie was standing right in front of Hulk, a smile on her face.
"That was fun! Can I do it again?" she asked with a pleading grin. Hulk looked at her in confusion. How in the world did she manage to get back here so fast? "Oh right, I'm here to scold you. That was not very nice, what you did, and I want you to go back to Ponyville and apologize," she said, giving him a stern glare. Hulk sneered and pushed past her.
"HEY! Don't ignore me. Why are you so anrgy?" she asked, jumping up on his shoulder. Hulk snarled and slammed his hand into his shoulder. He smiled and looked over...to find that Pinkie was gone once again. He looked around for her and found that she had somehow gotten herself on his leg.
"Is it because of Gilda? I know that she can be annoying, but that's no reason to crush her," she said. Hulk growled and slammed his fist into his leg, but once again Pinkie had vanished.
"Or was it that Celestia attacked you? She didn't mean it, she just thought you were a threat," Pinkie said cheerfully from on his back. Hulk roared and reached over with both hands, only to grab empty air.
"Twilight was really upset about what you did. Can't you at least apologize to her?" Hulk roared in rage and slammed both fists into the ground, blasting apart the ground at his feet and sending a storm of dust and debris all around him. Once the storm had died down, Hulk stood up with a grin on his face, knowing that there was no way that Pinkie could still be near him after that.
'You didn't have to do that Hulk, there must have been another way,' Banner said with a sigh, sad that Pinkie had to go like that. She wasn't a bad pony.
"Now Hulk can have quiet," Hulk said with a sigh of relief. He started to walk forward...until he felt a weight on his head.
"That was a close one! You really are stronger than you look and you looked really strong to begin with." Hulk looked up to find that Pinkie was now standing on his head, looking down at him with a smile. While Hulk looked up in disbelief, Banner started laughing to himself.
'It seems that she's more than a match for you, Hulk,' Banner said with a chuckle. Hulk growled at him and shook himself. Pinkie jumped off his head and landed in the crater in front of him.
"Why you no leave Hulk alone?" Hulk asked her.
"Because I'm Banner's friend. If you're always this mean, how do your friends stand you?" Pinkie asked with a shake of her head.
"Hulk no have friends! Hulk no want friends! All Hulk wants is to be LEFT ALONE!" Hulk then launched himself into the air and sailed off into the distance, launching himself again as soon as he touched down. Pinkie watched him go with a sad look on her face, realizing why he was so angry.
"Hulk doesn't have any friends?" she whispered to herself. Her face then set like flint and she took off after the Hulk, Pinkie promising herself that she'd help him make a friend, whether he wanted one or not.
-------=-=------
In a quiet meadow far away from any known pony civilization sat one Dr. Banner. He was looking down at a cold stream that was teeming with fish, surrounded by birds that had grown curious as to who he was. He hadn't moved in a few hours and the animals had grown used to his presence. The reason he had not moved in so long was because he was trying to go through Hulk's memories of what happened in Ponyville.
'I did it again,' Banner thought to himself. 'I let my anger get the best of me...and so many suffered because of it. Why did I bother staying when I knew that this was going to happen? Why do I always do this?' Banner continued to stare at the stream, watching all the animals and fish pass by him. The Hulk's voice had receeded and he knew that the giant was sleeping, but he would eventually re-awaken. But this time Banner planned to be as far away as possible from any intelligent life. He stood up slowly so as not to disturb the birds or animals and slowly began to walk, using one hand to hold up his pants. He had only made it ten feet when a voice called out to him.
"Dr. Banner!" Banner turned his head to see Twilight come flying down and land behind him. "Thank Celestia you're alright! After what happened in town, I didn't know if--"
"Why did you look for me?" he asked coldly.
"Because I was worried. We were all worried," Twilight said, pointing towards a balloon filled with the other Elements of Harmony that landed behind her. The ponies all jumped out and ran over to him, each of them visibly relieved that he was alright. "We didn't know what would happen to you after...the Hulk emerged."
"You should have just left me alone," he said quietly, starting to walk away. "You'll be safer if you do." Pinkie huffed and ran in front of him, staring into his eyes.
"No, we're your friends! And friends never abandon each other, no matter what!" she said with certainty. Banner observed her smile and determination with no emotion, walking by her without looking down. Twilight watched him leave, knowing that she had to say something to change his mind.
"Dr. Banner...we know that you're only trying to keep us safe by leaving, but you need to understand that--"
"No, you need to understand," Banner snapped, cutting Twilight off and causing the ponies to look at him with alarm. He realized that he had snapped and closed his eyes, calming himself down. "You need to understand how lucky you were that the Hulk had no interest in any of you. The fact that only your homes were destroyed was a miracle in and of itself. Next time, you will not be so lucky. That is why I need to go...before it happens again."
"But we can help you," Fluttershy added, looking to the others for support. "We can help you to keep the Hulk at bay. I know many ways to help hold your anger back." Banner looked at her and shook his head.
"I have tried every trick known to man and all of them have failed. He can't be cured, he can't be stopped. The only way to ensure that others remain safe is for me to be alone," he said in a sad whisper, looking ahead and walking away.
"But we can help ya, just like ya helped mah granny," Applejack pleaded, but Banner just continued to walk.
"Applejack's right, we may not have the technology of your home, but we have magic that humans could only dream of!" Twilight added, trying to give him hope. "I'm sure that one of our spells could help you." Banner came to a stop and slightly turned his head, so that they could see his weary eyes.
"I gave up on being helped or cured a long time agao," he said in a beaten tone. "All I want now is to be left alone. I thank you for what you've done for me and I'm sorry for what I did to your home. I wish you well." Banner started to walk away, but a new pony was now standing in front of him. "Celestia."
"I mistook you, Banner," the princess began, looking at Banner with a curious look. "I thought of you as much stronger willed then you actually are."
"When you live your life with a monster inside of you, then you'll see how hard it is to stay strong," Banner muttered, trying to walk past her, but Celestia held out a wing to stop him. "Was...was any one hurt during my rampage?" he asked fearfully.
"Well, Lyra will be in the hospital for weeks and I myself am lucky to be alive, but my sister managed to keep most the ponies safe from the shadows," Celestia said softly as she looked at all her bruises, causing Banner to drop his face in his hands.
"I shouldn't have been there. I always do this. I hurt them all again."
"You may have given up on yourself, Banner, but these ponies have not. They are still willing to help you." Banner looked back at the ponies, each of whom was nodding at what Celestia said and each agreed that they would help.
"If you try to help me, the Hulk will return," he told them. "And he will destroy Ponyville again. Is that a risk you want to take?"
"I'll be honest, Ponyville gets destroyed every few months," Twilight said with a smile. "But no matter how many times it goes down or what trials we face while it's being destroyed, we always stay friends and help each other. And we're willing to help you as well. Please, you've already done so much for us, let us do something for you."
"I don't want help, I want to be alone," he replied, knowing how this would end if he agreed. "I'm just a monster."
"And yet you were still willing to help even though you are a...monster," Celestia reminded him with a smile. "You are always ready to give others a second chance, yet hesitant to take one yourself. You have given them so much in such a short time, now let them give you something in return." Banner looked back at the ponies, each of whom knew about the monster inside of him, the monster that had destroyed their homes. But unlike all the other times that he had 'Hulked-out,' there was no fear or uncertainty in their eyes. Only the desire to help him.
"You gave me a new understanding of the world," Twilight said with a smile, reminding him of their study session.
"You gave me a new friend," Pinkie said with a grin. "And I love having friends."
"You gave me a chance to create for an alien," Rarity said with a grin. "No other fashion designer can say that."
"You helped me when Susie went crazy and attacked me," Fluttershy said with a sad smile. "You gave me an act of kindness.
"You showed me how to use my brain," RD said with a grin. "I'm still working on applying it, though."
"And yah gave me back mah granny," AJ said with tears brimming in her eyes. "And ah can never thank ya enough for it."
"So, that's quite a lot of good done from one who is supposedly a monster," Celestia said with a sly smile. "What do you say now, Dr. Banner? It seems that these ponies need you more than you knew." Banner looked at these ponies, not realizing that he had such an effect on them. He knew that he should leave, that running was the only way to keep them safe. But he had been running for so long, running so that the Hulk wouldn't destroy or be weaponized. These ponies didn't want the Hulk to weaponize him, they wanted Banner so that they could help him. Maybe...maybe they could.
"And it doesn't matter if you've given up, because we'll never give up on you," Twilight told him with determination.
"You truly think you can cure me?" he asked with emptiness.
"Yes. I will find a way."
Banner looked at them with doubt, knowing that the Hulk could never be cured. But...what if they could?
"I'll give you three days. No more," he said. The ponies cried out with joy and all of them tackled him to the ground. While they celebrated, Celestia was going through her game plan. She knew that Banner was a trustworthy individual, but the Hulk could not be trusted. She planned to tell Luna to keep an eye on him when they got back to Ponyville. So the ponies and Banner each got into the balloon and headed back home, ready for what the new day would bring.
It had been a full day since Banner had returned to Ponyville, and his heart was torn to see the shape of the city. Buildings had been reduced to rubble and there were homeless ponies practically everywhere. And from what Twilight had told him, a number of other ponies besides those who had been with him had seen Banner turn into the Hulk, so his secret had spread across the entire town by the time he got back. The town's populace watched as he climbed out of the balloon, and he had been unable to read their faces. So when he saw their reaction, he was surprised to say the least.
"Look, it's Doctor Banner!"
"Is he alright? His clothes look ripped apart."
"Thank Celestia that he's no longer green."
"I don't understand," Banner muttered to Celestia, listening as all the ponies voiced their concern for him. "I destroyed their homes. I unleashed one of the greatest terrors known to my species upon them, and they knew that I was the one who did it. Why do they still care about me?"
"This isn't the first time a giant monster has come through and destroyed Ponyville," Twilight told him with a grin. "Heck, even Spike turned into a giant, greedy dragon and wrecked the city. However, the ponies here don't judge you based on what you do as a monster, but what you do in day-to-day life. And you save lives and help out whenever you can." Banner didn't know what to say as all of the ponies walked over to his group and started to ask him questions, so Celestia had to step in.
"Sorry, but he cannot answer questions at the moment. He is needed at the hospital." The ponies (the news reporters especially) wanted him to stay and answer more questions, but the authority of the princess quelled them. Rarity said that she was going to make a new outfit for Banner as she walked off, and Rainbow Dash mentioned that she had cloud duty. Pinkie and AJ both had to go to their jobs and Fluttershy had spent too long away from her animals. That left only Twilight and Celestia to go to the hospital with Banner.
"Why am I going to the hospital again?" he asked them once they were outside the main doors.
"Because you agreed to let us help you, so we're going to need a sample of your blood to find out more about the Hulk," Twilight said with a smile. Banner stopped in his tracks, but Twilight cut him off before he could complain. "Look, you agreed to let us help you, so unless you want us experimenting on you, we need a blood sample. Which will it be?" Banner opened his mouth, but closed it again with a thin smile. Twilight had nailed him; he'd much rather prefer them trying to cure a bit of his blood rather than trying to cure all of him. So with a sigh of defeat, he opened the door and walked inside.
"Dr. Banner!" the receptionist said with a smile. "I'm glad to see that you are alright. After the fiasco yesterday, we thought that you would be gone for good."
"And nopony's mad that I turned into a green, raging monster and destroyed the town?" he asked cautiously.
"Please, that was nothing compared to what Discord did a while back," she said with a chuckle. "He made Big Mac into a dog and caused all the buildings to float. What's a green monster compared to him?" This Discord intrigued Banner, but not in a good way. He had found that those who can manipulate reality were often not to be trusted. "So, what can we do for you?"
"I need..." he began, looking back at Twilight who indicated for him to continue. "To have some blood examined." The receptionist looked at him over the rim of her glasses, a curious smile on her face.
"After the last little incident we had when we tried to draw blood, I would have never expected you to request it. But if you're certain that you can control your green friend, then I see no reason why we can't." The receptionist called down one of the doctors, who greeted Banner with a smile.
"Dr. Banner! Glad to see that you are alright. I hear that you wish to have a little blood drawn?" he asked with a grin.
"That is correct, Dr. Lifeline," Banner muttered. "And don't worry, I won't...get angry."
"Well I certainly hope not," he said with a chuckle, walking towards an examination room. "This way please, the others can come if they want." Twilight and Celestia followed him down the hallway into the examination room. Some of the other patients laughed at Banner's outfit (his shredded pants) as they entered the room.
"Now then, if you'll sit down on the bed, the nurse get the needle." Banner sat down uncomfortably as the doctor left, Celestia and Twilight giving him nervous looks.
"Are you sure that you are ready for this?" Celestia asked hesitantly.
"You didn't give me much of a choice," Banner grunted. The ponies looked at him hesitantly as the doctor re-entered the room with the nurse, holding a small needle in her hoof.
"Now you'll only feel a small prick, but please try to control your anger," she said sternly. Celestia and Twilight looked on nervously as the nurse brought the needle near Banner's arm. Banner looked away and closed his eyes. The nurse gently inserted the needle into his arm, while Dr. Lifeline kept his eyes on Banner the entire time. Banner's eyes went wild for a second, but he gently exhaled and calmed down, allowing a little of his blood to be drawn.
"There you go, Dr. Banner, your blood has been successfully drawn," Dr. Lifeline said with a smile, showing Banner the vial of blood. Twilight and Celestia looked at his blood unimpressed.
"Huh, I thought that it would be green," Celestia muttered as the nurse bandaged Banner's arm.
"Get me mad enough and it will definitely turn green," he said with a pained grin. He took the vial of blood from the doctor and looked at it, seeing the destuctive potential of what he was holding. "Let's get back to the library, I don't want to be carrying this around for too long." Twilight held out her hoof to receive the blood, but Banner clenched it even tighter and walked by her.
"He doesn't trust me," Twilight said with a sigh.
"With what he has to deal with, I'd say that he doesn't trust anyone," Celestia comforted her. The two followed Banner out of the library, Twilight wondering what secrets his blood would hold.
----=-=----
Twilight had no idea what to make of the sample she was observing. After saying goodbye to Celestia, Twilight and Banner had gone back to her library to examine the blood sample. To get started, the two of them had gone into the basement where Twilight kept her lab equipment. Banner pulled up a chair and watched as Twilight put his blood on a slide. She slipped it under her microscope and looked into the eyepiece with a huge smile, interested to see what secrets were hidden within.
"I don't believe it..." she muttered to herself as she looked at his blood. "I've never seen blood like this before. It's...incredible. Your blood has been mutated beyond anything I've ever seen."
"You've looked at blood samples before?" Banner asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know that you were this into science."
"Oh I love science, but I've studied everything there is to study in Ponyville," she muttered, turning a knob on the microscope. "But that was until you showed up! Now I know that there is so much more for me to learn! Like, how does a black hole work? Or, why can a two ton metal car move faster than a horse? Or, what's a Thor?"
"You know Thor?" Banner asked.
"No. You talk in your sleep," Twilight said with a grin. "Okay, now that I've seen your blood up close, I can now work up an antidote for the Hulk gene," she said with a smile, walking over to her shelves. She started to levitate bottles towards her.
"It's not going to work," Banner said with a shrug. "But you're welcome to try." Twilight walked over to the slide and gently tilted one of the bottles over, carefully pouring one drop onto the blood. She quickly moved to the microscope and squeeled with delight as the magic began to repair the damage to his cells. Then the cells began to mutate and turn green, fighting back against the magic potion and quickly consuming it in a matter of seconds. Once the potion had been destroyed, the cells returned to their normal state, leaving a shocked Twilight.
"Did it work?" Banner asked with a smirk. Twilight sighed and pulled out the next bottle.
"Okay, so it's a little tougher than I thought," she said with a frown. "But I refuse to give up!"
"Trust me, giving up would save you time," Banner suggested.
"If you want me to give up so badly, why'd you agree to this in the first place?" She retorted.
"Because I'm desperate," Banner whispered to himself as Twilight continued working. She poured a much more powerful acidic potion onto the blood, that was created to specifically get rid of poisons without damaging the pony it was meant to heal. But just like before, the Hulk's cells overcame the potion and quickly eliminated it. Twilight growled in frustration as Banner shook his head with a smile. He had spent years trying to get rid of the Hulk with the most advanced sciences in his world. If Twilight could somehow manage it, he would take back everything that he had thought about her--and her world.
Knock Knock.
"Banner, can you get that? Me and this sample are about to have a frank exchange of ideas," Twilight growled, pouring four potions onto his blood at once. He headed upstairs as Twilight sighed in frustration, walking to the front door and opening it.
"Hello, Dr. Banner," Rarity said with a smile. "I came to drop off your outfit. May I come in?" Banner heard Twilight roar in frustration, but he figured as long as she stayed down there they were safe.
"Sure, come on in but stay out of the basement," he warned her.
"Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"Twilight," Banner confirmed. He moved aside and allowed Rarity to enter. She walked over to a chair and plopped her bag down on the floor, opening it and lifting out his new clothes.
"Voila! What do you think?" she asked, floating the clothes over to him. "I may not like the color green, but it works amazingly with you." She had done what she said and made his shirt a Hulk green, something that he wasn't sure that he agreed with.
"It looks...great," Banner said with a forced smile, putting the shirt on. Rarity gave him his pants and looked away as he slipped them on, smiling when she saw him in his full outfit.
"You look amazing in it," she said with a smile, walking around him to see how it looked. "Yes...green is definitely your color."
"Thanks again for the clothes. Again, I have nothing with which to pay you back," Banner said, realizing he said that often. He really did rely on the compassion of others often, didn't he? Both of them looked at the basement door as Twilight let loose another cry of rage, telling him that Hulk's cells were getting the better of her.
"You have any plans while she's...being Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk," Banner muttered looking out the window. "I need something to calm me down or else..."
"I understand. Go and relax. Twilight's going to be busy for a while." Banner nodded and opened the door for Rarity, who smiled at him as she left. Banner closed the door behind him as he left, hearing Twilight scream in rage as she failed again. He shook his head, knowing that she'd never figure it out. He walked out of the library, heading off towards his destination.
---=-=---
He didn't know why he headed to Sugar Cube Corners, but he did know that he could use some friendly company at the moment and none of the ponies were more friendly than Pinkie. He walked into the store to find Pinkie rolling around on the floor with two foals, one a unicorn and the other a pegasus. He was a little shocked to see that, he never knew Pinkie had kids.
"Hey Doctor B!" Pinkie said with a giggle as he walked in, hopping up with both the foals on her back. "What can I do for ya?" Banner walked over to a table and sat down, opening one of the menus at the table and looking through it.
"Not much, just wanted to order something and to talk," he said, finding something that looked good. Pinkie placed the foals on the table and sat across from him.
"Well, lucky for you, I can provide both," she said with a smile. The two foals looked at him with interest and crawled over to him. He looked at them with a smile as they gawked at him with awe, curiosity shining in their eyes.
"Well, hello there," he said to them with a grin. Both of them smiled and reached their hooves out to him. Banner looked at Pinkie with an unsure face, but she waved him on. He put one hand under each of them and pulled them over to him, both of them giggling at him. "I didn't know that you had foals, Pinkie," Banner said as the two began to crawl on him.
"Oh, they're not mine. They belong to the Cakes. They're the ponies that run the place," Pinkie explained, giggling as one of the foals began to pull on Banner's shirt. "Their names are Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake. Aren't they just cute?" Banner was aware of the other ponies in the shop smiling at him as he tried to keep the foals from crawling over him. He gently picked them both up in one hand each and set them down on the table. Both of them sniffled and held out their hooves again, wanting back up.
"Don't worry, I'll take them off your hooves," Pinkie said, picking them both up and placing them on her back. As she went up the stairs, a pony with frosting on her head walked over to him.
"Thanks for playing with them, they love to see new things," she said with a smile. "My name is Mrs. Cake. What can I get for you?"
"Just a coffee. Decaf please," he said with a sigh. She nodded and headed off to the back, leaving Banner to look around the shop. The ponies there were talking with each other while looking at him out of the corner of their eyes. He didn't see any malice in them, and after the scene with the foals, they seemed to be more accepting. Mrs. Cake brought out his coffee and he sipped it slowly, glad to have something that reminded him of home.
"Sorry about that, but they needed their nap," Pinkie said with a grin as she sat back down. "By the way, if you see Pound Cake on the ceiling, let me know. He's still trying to fly."
"I didn't know that baby pegasi could still fly," Banner commented. "I thought they had to be at least an adolescent."
"Nope, he can fly whenever he wants. Makes getting him off the ceiling a problem," Pinkie said with a sigh. Banner continued to drink his coffee as Pinkie just stared at him.
"What?" he eventually asked her.
"Looking at you, I would never have guessed that there was a monster inside of you," she said. Banner's face fell as she said this, another reminder of his curse. "Why is Hulk so angry all the time?"
"Hulk has constantly been hunted since the day he came into existence," Banner said with a sigh, putting down his coffee. "Every time he comes out, someone is there to try and hurt him. And in order to protect himself he has to smash them, which makes them hunt him with even more tenacity. All he wants is to be left alone, but no one lets him."
"I don't know why he wants to be alone. I'd go crazy without all my friends," Pinkie said with a smile, "friends like Twilight and Rainbow Dash and you." Banner looked at her over the rim of his cup, appreciating that she had said that. He didn't like to have friends because of the Hulk, but then again, the Hulk had a heck of a time with her. She was the bane of the Hulk.
"Aren't you already crazy?" he asked with a smile. Pinkie thought about it for a minute before she began to laugh.
"I guess you're right, I am crazy!" Banner laughed as well and the two talked for a little while longer, until night fell and the shop had to close. Banner ordered one last coffee and left once he had finished it, waving goodbye to Pinkie and the foals, who had snuck down from upstairs to see him again. As he walked away from the store, he wondered where to go next. He didn't want to head back to the library, but he had no idea where to go. He decided that he would find a place to stargaze and try to enjoy himself. So he headed off to a hill that he'd spotted in the distance, smiling to himself.
---=-=---
The night sky always calmed him. He assumed that was because he was constantly on the run from the goverment and he spent many nights out under the starry sky. The stars always calmed him down, helped him to think: Like, how the ponies had managed to convince him to come back even after everything that happened. Even after he had turned into the Hulk and run rampant through the town, they still forgave him and let him come back. He hadn't received kindness like that in a long time.
"Mind if I join you?" Banner sat up and looked over to find a mid-night blue alicorn standing next to him, a friendly look on her face. From his readings, this was Princess Luna, one of the two princesses, along with Celestia.
"Sure," he said with a shrug, laying back down. "Nothing I can do to stop you."
"From what I've heard about you, that is not entirely true," she said with a thin smile, lying down on her back next to him. She lay next to him for a while, her eyes on the stars. "What do you think of the stars, Dr. Banner?"
"I wish I could be among them," he said with a longing sigh, staring off into the vastness. "Far away from all other life so that the Hulk can never hurt anyone again."
"But wouldn't you be lonely?" she asked him.
"My happiness means little as long as the Hulk is kept away from others," he replied softly. Luna looked at him, feeling his pain. She could see the sorrow in his eyes, sorrow from a lifetime of pain.
"How did you become the Hulk?" When Banner didn't answer, she thought that she had asked a question the he didn't like to answer. After a few minutes, she had gone back to stargazing when he finally answered.
"I was experimenting on gamma radiation to help create the perfect human," Banner began, going back into his memories. "Stronger, faster, immune to diseases. It would have been a cure for many of the world's problems. But my employers wanted to use my research as a weapon, to turn my miracle formula into a tool for destruction. So on the day we were supposed to test the potential for the gamma rays...it all went wrong." Banner flashed back to the explosion, when his body was cooked with rays so powerful that any normal human would have been killed. But Banner wasn't a normal human. He was cursed.
"What happened after that?"
"The gamma went off and fried me like a microwave, but with gamma rays," he continued, snapping out of his memories. "I should have died, but a certain something helped me survive."
"The Hulk," Luna said with a frown.
"Yep. And ever since that day, I've been a target for the military and secret goverment organizations--as well as those who wish to weaponize the Hulk."
"Weaponize the Hulk? But you are his host and you cannot control him! Why would anypony wish to make more of him?"
"Because he is the ultimate weapon," Banner replied coldly. "And no one could stop an army of Hulks. That, and the fact that he can get destructive around civilization, is why I try to stay away from others. He's a monster and I have to make sure that he is my burden alone to bear." Luna looked at the human with a newfound sense of respect. His entire life had been stripped away from him by others, yet his only concern was to keep said others and the rest of the world safe from his monster. Whereas she...
"I had a monster inside of me too," she whispered. Banner looked over at her, remembering what he had read about her. "I was a creature called Nightmare Moon. I became that way after my jealousy for my sister and her light became unbearable. But unlike you, who does everything he can to keep the monster under control, I succumbed to its power and let my hate rule me. My sister had to intervene, and I was placed on the moon for a thousand years, imprisoned with my hatred. If not for Twilight and her friends, I would still be that monster today." Banner raised an eyebrow at the whole 'to the moon' part. Last time he'd checked, there was no oxygen on the moon and therefor Luna would have suffocated instantly. Then again, he had a massive monstrosity inside of him and he constantly talked with gods...so he supposed that a pony on the moon wasn't so far fetched.
"Trying to sympathize with me?" he asked her.
"No, I'm trying to tell you to give Twilight and the others a chance. They helped me when I was a monster; they can help you too." Banner shook his head with a chuckle.
"Sorry Luna, but there is only one cure for me," he said with a grin. When Luna looked at him funny, he stuck out his thumb and brought it along his neck. Her widening eyes told him that she understood.
"Death? But surely you would never--"
"I have tried multiple times," he corrected her, gaining a look of horror. "But every time I do, HE stops me. So I gave up trying to cure him or to get rid of him. All I can do is contain him and pray that I'm far away from any life when he finally decides to come out." Banner noticed that the moon was nearly at its zenith and that is was time for him to head back.
"You make a lovely night, Luna," he said as he stood up, stretching his back. "And thank you for trying to console me. While it didn't work, it's always nice to know that others care." He waved goodbye to her and headed back towards the direction of the library. Luna watched him go with a shake of her head.
"Such a strong will...yet there is no ambition in his eyes. He truly has given up on himself," she said with another sad shake of her head, spreading her wings and taking flight back to Canterlot. Banner arrived back at the library a few minutes later, being greeted by the sound of silence. He felt concern for Twilight's well being and he opened the door to the basement, carefully descending just in case anything went wrong. He found the pony asleep at her lab table, his small bit of blood glowing green with gamma, telling him that she had failed.
"Don't feel too bad, greater minds than yours have tried and also failed," he muttered to her. He reached onto a shelf and pulled off a blanket, gently putting it over her shoulders to keep her warm. He then went back up the stairs and laid down on the floor, closing his eyes and allowing himself to go back into his memories, of a time when he wasn't a monster and his life was perfect.
Banner woke up early the next morning stiff and sore. He stood up and stretched out his arms, looking around the room. Twilight had apparently continued her research well into the night, because he found her still asleep downstairs with his blood which was still green.
"I told you, the Hulk's an uncurable disease," he said with a sigh as he headed back upstairs. "Not even your magic can cure him." His next target was the fridge upstairs, and he rummaged around in it for some food. He pulled out a carton of milk and some apples, and he had just sat down to eat when there was a knock at the door. He dragged himself over to it, opening the door to see that Fluttershy was standing there, bashfully looking at her hooves.
"O-oh, hello Dr. Banner," she said softly, so that Banner had to lean in to hear her. "I-is Twilight in? I need her help with something."
"She's in, but she's also sound asleep in the basement," Banner said with a small chuckle. "And I doubt when she wakes she'll be in any shape to help."
"Oh, I'm sorry for bothering you then," she said with a sad sigh and turned to leave. Banner stepped out of the house and stepped in front of her.
"Just because Twilight can't help doesn't mean that I won't. What do you need help with?"
"I need help looking for Susie," Fluttershy muttered. "She hasn't come back to the cottage in a few days. She's normally so good about being home on time and not staying out late. I'm afraid that something's happened to her."
"Susie? You mean the snake that bit a hole in my arm?" Banner asked with a raised eyebrow. Fluttershy nodded weakly in return, wondering if he'd still help. "Alright, let's go find her," Banner said with a hint of resignation. Fluttershy's face lit up and she smiled at Banner before leading the way. Their walk took them through the town, where a number of ponies stopped and waved hello to him. Banner waved back, amazed at how friendly they still were. This was a lot different than Earth, that was for certain.
"Why are all the ponies here so friendly?" he asked Fluttershy.
"That's because Equestria is a peaceful land for the most part and the ponies have nothing to fear," Fluttershy said with a smile, waving at the ponies as well. "Another reason the ponies are so nice around here is because Pinkie's always trying to be friends with everypony. She doesn't care who you are, she'll still be friends with you--although she can be a bit pushy at times." Banner agreed with both statements, remembering how Pinkie had acted and talked to the Hulk. Not even Thor himself would speak to an angry Hulk like that. Then again, Hulk was always angry, so he supposed it was a moot point.
"I take it she doesn't get afraid or upset easily?" he asked.
"I don't know how she does it. I'm afraid of practically everything and all she's afraid of is losing her friends." Banner knew that fear well, but most of the time he was pushing his friends away to keep them safe. Fluttershy then started to talk about the kinds of adventures on which she and her friends had gone, and while he tried to listen, his mind slipped off to the talk Pinkie had with the Hulk. She had shown no fear of him, something that he had almost never seen before. Would she try to make friends with the Hulk? He shook his head at the thought, knowing that the Hulk would never accept that. He then realized that Fluttershy was looking up at him, waiting for the answer to the question she had asked.
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy. What did you ask?"
"I wanted to know how you're enjoying your time in Ponyville? It seems like you've calmed down quite a bit."
"Yes, but only a little. Now let's go and see if we can find your snake friend." He walked on a bit, only to stop and realize that Fluttershy had stopped. "What's the matter?"
"I just wanted to thank you for coming to help me," she said with a small smile. "I know that Twilight wanted to cure you, but I was actually hoping that I could get a chance to help you as well."
"You wanted to help me? How?" he asked with a smrik.
"I thought that I could help you control your anger," she said with a compassionate smile. "I may not look it, but I have a lot of pent up anger in me. Sometimes it gets so bad that I just want to scream!" Banner had one of the strongest wills known to man, and even he almost 'daw'd' at the little yell she let out. After he calmed his heart, he looked up to notice that the two of them had arrived on the edge of the Everfree Forest.
"Are you sure you want to go in there?" he asked with a bit of concern. "From what I've read it's the most dangerous place in the center of Equestria."
"Is it more dangerous than you?" she asked with a smile.
"Well, no but--"
"Then we'll be fine." Fluttershy headed into the forest, leaving Banner to walk after her with a sigh. Yes, if they got in danger he might use the Hulk to protect them, but there was no guarantee that the Hulk wouldn't attack her...and the last thing he wanted on his already heavy conscience was the death of an innocent pony.
"Come on Banner, my animal friends told me that Susie was last seen around here," Fluttershy told him, grabbing him by the arm (he still didn't know how they did that with their hooves) and leading him through the forest. She came to a stop at a small clearing that would have looked beautiful...if not for the fact that a large number of trees had been uprooted and that many animals were laying dead on the ground. Fluttershy took one look at the scene and put a hoof to her head before falling over. Banner clinically started looking around at the destruction, seeing if he could find any sign of what did this.
"This doesn't make sense," he muttered to himself, looking at the animal bodies and torn apart trees. "This is the kind of destruction that I'd expect from the Hulk. But I haven't 'Hulked out' in this area. So why does all this destruction look so...?" Banner's words halted when he looked behind a tree to find a terrifying sight. A massive indentation had been dug into the ground, at least six feet deep. Banner hopped down into it to find that it wasn't just an indentation made there, but was instead a trail that headed even deeper into the forest.
"Ugh...Banner?" Fluttershy asked, getting back up to her hooves and trying not to throw up. "Wh-what happened to these animals? Where is Susie?" Banner ignored her, focusing on the problem and trying to put it together. He had witnessed scenes of destruction like this before whenever the Hulk came out. The destruction here couldn't be the Hulk, so it had to be something else as powerful. The indent in the ground looked very similar to what a snake would make, but it should not be of this size. There were no known snakes that had the power of the Hulk or the size of...
"Oh hell," he muttered to himself as the answer struck him like a lightning bolt. He jumped up and grabbed the edge of the massive trail and pulled himself out, running over to Fluttershy who was burying the bodies. "Fluttershy, I need you to fly up and see where this trail goes.
"But, I have to bury--"
"Now," he said sternly, causing Fluttershy to back up with fear. She flapped her wings with all her might and fluttered up into the sky, looking off into the distance to see where it went.
"As far as I can see it, it looks like it's heading for Ponyville!" she called out to him. Banner swore to himself and took off in a dead sprint for the village, with Fluttershy flying beside him.
"Banner! What's wrong?" she cried out to him.
"I think I know what happened to Susie," Banner growled, leaping over a felled tree and rolling under another one, coming up sprinting. "And I don't think you're going to like it. Remember when she bit me when she was upset?"
"How could I forget? That's when you saved me," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, well, I think she may have swallowed some of my blood," he panted, seeing Ponyville off in the distance.
"And that's bad?" she asked.
"Well, she bit me when she was angry right? And you know what happens when I get angry with my blood, don't you?" Fluttershy's eyes widened as she realized what he was implying, looking at him with terror in her eyes. Then Banner heard the screams which were followed by a massive roar. The two of them ran into the center of town...to see something that would haunt Fluttershy's nightmares.
"I think Susie's all grown up," Banner said to the terrified Fluttershy. Susie had gone from a three foot long snake to a massive fifty foot snake that was as thick as a tree, making it almost look like a basilisk. She was hissing with rage and ramming through buildings and ponies, leaving destruction and terror in her wake. Banner could see the green gamma blood pulsating through her veins as ponies panicked all around him, running for their lives.
"Dr. Banner!" Both Banner and Fluttershy turned to find Twilight and the others running or flying over to them. "What's going on? What is that thing?"
"That 'thing' was formerly known as Susie the snake, but now it is a monster of destruction," Banner explained, whistling as the snake's giant tail tossed a house across the sky. "Yeah, we might want to do something about that."
"Alright, here's the plan. Rainbow Dash and I will keep the snake busy while Fluttershy and Rarity help the others to evacuate," Twilight ordered. "Pinkie, you and AJ get Banner out of here. I don't want two gamma-filled monsters in Ponyville." AJ nodded and grabbed Banner by the arm, dragging him off despite his protests. Twilight then turned towards the snake and shot a spell of fire into the side of its head. While it did no damage, it got her attention.
"This might not have been one of my better plans!" she yelled as she took off into the sky, flying away from the massive serpent that followed her through the streets. RD took over from there, flying down from the sky and kicking the serpent in the head. All that did was anger the serpent even further and it began to follow her.
"Let me go, Applejack," Banner growled while AJ dragged him through the streets. "They will need my help if they hope to beat that thing."
"No. Twilight asked me to get ya as far away from there as ah could, so we're leaving," she replied. Banner growled and tried to free himself, but she had an iron grip. Pinkie hopped along side looking at Banner, giving him a quizzical look. He opened his mouth to say something, but then Rainbow Dash came flying overhead and crashed through a building, knocking her out. Banner raised an eyebrow at AJ, but she was even more stubborn than he had thought.
"Look, things may look bad now, but mah friends always come out on top," she said with certainty, just as Twilight got tossed overhead into the same building. Banner, AJ and Pinkie all turned to find the massive serpent heading for them. AJ dropped him and sprinted at the snake, pulling out her rope and lassoing it around the serpent's lower jaw. The creature hissed and swung its head, tossing AJ. Banner watched her sail into a bale of hay before turning his attention back to the snake. Pinkie was dancing around it to keep it distracted while Fluttershy and Rarity came running back to help.
"Let them go you brute!" Rarity yelled as she let loose a storm of gems upon the snake. The gems broke on its skin and turned its attention towards her. Her eyes shrunk as the serpent headed for her, but Fluttershy stepped in with the stare. Normally this would have been enough to bring any creature to its knees, but with the gamma blood fueling it, the serpent was able to resist. It hissed and smacked both Fluttershy and Rarity out of its way. Banner watched as Pinkie was the only pony left that tried to fight back, sighing to himself as he took off his shirt.
"Hulk, I know you're in there. I need your help," Banner said to himself. He heard no reply, but he could feel the Hulk's presence in the back of his mind. "I need you to get angry and take this thing out."
'No,' Hulk replied.
"What do you mean NO!?" Banner roared in rage, feeling his pulse increase but the transformation never came. "You love going crazy! That's all you live for!"
"It will be the same. Hulk come out, Hulk stop snake, ponies hate Hulk and ponies try to hurt Hulk. Hulk tired of it, Hulk just wants to be alone,' the Hulk replied. Banner looked up at the ponies in desperation, seeing Twilight and Pinkie try to fight the serpent back. He couldn't believe it, the one time he wanted the Hulk to come out and he was being stubborn.
"Hulk, if you don't help them, I will never allow you to take over again," Banner hissed, hoping to threaten the Hulk. His threats were met with silence, Hulk's mind having been made up. Banner looked back to the ponies to watch as the serpent wrapped its tail around Pinkie, slowly beginning to crush her. "Hulk, please."
'...Hulk will help.' Banner looked up in shock, not believing that Hulk had agreed just because he had said 'please.' 'On one condition.'
"Anything, just help them," Banner replied.
'Hulk stays. Banner goes. Permanently.' He knew that would be it. Banner knew that Hulk would want to be the dominate mind and not just the one that came out whenever Banner got angry. Banner knew that if he agreed, the ponies would be powerless at the might of the Hulk. And Banner didn't know if the Hulk would ever let him be in control again, even let thoughts reach him. But if he didn't, they would die here. Banner wanted them to be safe...and there was only one way to do that.
"I agree," Banner said in a whisper before feeling a rush of rage wash over him. His body expanded as muscles grew all over and his skin turned a deep green. Hulk then stood up and let out a massive roar.
"GGGGRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
The serpent looked over at Hulk and dropped Pinkie, advancing towards him as it spotted a new threat. Hulk growled and lumbered over towards the snake, slowly beginning to run at it. The snake increased its speed as well and raced towards him. The Hulk jumped into the air just as the snake opened its jaw to swallow him. Hulk brought his right fist back and drove it into the creature's jaw. The sheer force of Hulk punching the snake in the jaw snapped its head back and sent it flying back across the town through multiple buildings.
"Puny snake think it can hurt Hulk? HULK TEAR PUNY SNAKE IN TWO!!" he screamed at the sky. The snake got out from the remains of the building under which it had been trapped and hissed at the Hulk, speeding towards him. Hulk roared in response and slammed his shoulder into it once it had gotten close. Hulk then grabbed it by the tail and flipped it over his head, slamming the snake into the ground. Hulk roared and lifted the serpent again, slamming it down again and again. While Hulk was battling with the snake, Twilight had recovered and had gathered all of her friends together.
"Are you all okay?" she asked her friends once they had woken up.
"Yeah, but I don't think I'll be helping Fluttershy with her snakes any more," RD said with a groan. Before the others could speak, Hulk roared as he was tossed through a building near them. They all screamed as he came barreling back out of the building that had just gone down, slamming both fists into the snake's mouth. The snake hissed in pain as it backed up while Hulk grabbed a carriage and smashed it on the side of the snake's head. The snake responded by swatting him with her tail and sending him into the air, where he hit something he couldn't see and crashed to the ground. He hopped up with a smile and threw himself back into the fray.
"Wow, the Hulk really is strong," Applejack said with a whistle.
"I just hope that he doesn't hurt Susie too bad," Fluttershy said with worry. Susie wrapped herself around the Hulk and began to constrict, trying to crush the life out of him. Hulk roared and flexed his muscles, forcing the snake to let go. Hulk then jumped up into the air and drove his feet into the snake. It hissed in pain and opened its jaw to swallow Hulk. Hulk grabbed the jaws as he came down to the ground and pushed them as far as they could go. The ponies looked on in terror as Hulk smiled at the snake...before tearing its jaws off. The creature tried to hiss, but it came out as a gurgle as green blood rained down on the town. Hulk tossed the jaws away and let out a roar to the sky as the serpent fell to the ground dead. Hulk looked around at the destruction with a smile before kicking the snake's corpse.
"Puny snake no match for Hulk. Hulk is strongest there--"
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT!!?" Hulk turned just in time to see a yellow blur fly right up into his face and glare at him with tear-filled eyes. "WHY DID YOU KILL HER?! SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THAT!!"
"Puny pony annoy Hulk!" Hulk roared, snarling at Fluttershy's stare. But the pony that normally never wanted to fight stood her ground, glaring into the Hulk's eyes with a fury that her friends had never seen before.
"Say you're sorry," she demanded in a deadly whisper. Hulk looked at her in confusion before laughing at her, shaking his head as he walked by her. He then felt something hit him in the back of his head. He slowly turned around to see that Fluttershy had thrown a brick at him. "Say - You're - Sorry." Hulk looked at her for a second before slamming his foot into the ground and causing the ground under her hooves to shoot up, launching her into the air. Her friends screamed as Hulk watched her fly off with a grin. RD took off after her and came flying back down a few seconds later, holding a crying Fluttershy in her hooves.
"You're a monster," Fluttershy whispered as she glared at the Hulk. "A monster." Hulk didn't care what she thought and turned to leave. And for the second time in under a minute, a pony decided to hit him.
SLAP!
All of the ponies gasped as Pinkie brought her hoof across his face. Hulk's face didn't budge as she hit him and she hid the pain in her eyes once she landed. Hulk glared down at her with fury in his eyes, but she glared back with a fury that surpassed Fluttershy's.
"How dare you make my friend cry!" Pinkie yelled at him, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain of hitting the Hulk. Hulk wanted to smash her, but he knew that wouldn't work. So he just walked by her, not listening as she yelled at him. He came to a stop as Pinkie ran in front of him. "Let Banner out," she demanded.
"No," Hulk replied.
"I want to speak with Banner," she repeated.
"Banner no here anymore. Only Hulk here now," Hulk said with a sneer.
"What do you mean, 'Banner no here'?" Twilight asked with worry. Hulk turned towards her with a smirk.
"Puny Banner wanted Hulk to save ponies, but Hulk no want to. So Banner gave Hulk control, made Hulk the one who doesn't have to transform. Now Hulk stay Hulk." Twilight was shocked. Banner had given up his freedom to keep them safe and had hoofed his body over to this...monster. Hulk turned back around and slammed his feet into the ground, launching himself into the air. Twilight and Pinkie watched him go, while Fluttershy walked over to what remained of Susie and continued to cry.
The clean up after the battle between the snake and the Hulk was grisly, to say the least. Luna had brought some of her night guards down to the town to help clean up what remained of the snake. They were used to odd jobs, because Luna and her guards took care of things that went 'bump in the night.' Twilight had assigned Applejack and Rarity to help repair the homes that had been destroyed in the fight, while Rainbow Dash had been sent off with Pinkie to see if Fluttershy was alright. They found her alone in her cottage, crying on her sofa with all her animals trying to comfort her.
"Hey Shy, are you okay?" RD asked as they entered the cottage. Fluttershy, whose face was buried in a pillow, shook her head to show that she wasn't. Rainbow sat down next to her while Pinkie looked at the pictures on the wall. All of them were of Fluttershy and her animal friends. She came across one that showed Flutterhsy with Susie before the gamma took control of her. Pinkie frowned and turned to the two, just as Rainbow Dash managed to get Fluttershy to talk again.
"She didn't deserve it," Fluttershy whispered, wiping her red eyes on her arm. "Susie was always such a nice snake, she never wanted to hurt anypony. It wasn't her fault that Banner had a poison in his blood that caused her to go crazy. She would normally never hurt a fly."
"Yeah, but she was poisoned and she did go out of control," Rainbow said with a sigh, wrapping a wing around her friend, trying to comfort her. "There's one thing I want to know, though. If a small dose of Banner's blood could make her go out of control like that, how the hay does Banner remain as sane and in control as he does?"
"Because Banner's not sane, he's even more insane than me," Pinkie said with a smile. Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at her like she was crazy. "Yeah, think about it. He has to live every day knowing that he's responsible for the deaths and destruction of so many lives. Yet he acts perfectly normal. But that's all that it is, an act. He's actually hiding his true self, and that true side of him is the Hulk, the side filled with rage and hatred for all who turned him into it."
"How did you know that?" Rainbow asked with a bit of amazement.
"Because I live crazy," she replied with a smile. "And I know a crazy pony when I see one."
"You talk like Banner and the Hulk are the same, but they're not," Fluttershy said in a whisper. "Banner is a kind pony who helps others and tries to keep us safe. Hulk is a monster that only knows how to destroy. They are not the same." Pinkie and Rainbow Dash looked at each other nervously, neither of them able to remember the last time Fluttershy had gotten so angry.
"Hey, you wanna go see Twilight?" Rainbow asked, hoping to take her mind off of everything. Fluttershy nodded slowly, her mind still on the Hulk. Pinkie opened the door and Fluttershy sulked out, Rainbow Dash looking at Pinkie with a shrug. The three of them walked through the streets of Ponyville, which was being rebuilt remarkably fast. A number of Luna's personal guards were helping ponies put up new walls and roofs faster than most unicorns could do. The center of town had sustained the most damage, and that's where Twilight was supposed to be, but none of them saw her. Rainbow Dash asked a pony where Twilight was and he pointed to the library. The three headed inside, wondering why she was here and not helping outside.
"Yo Twilight! You in here?" Rainbow Dash yelled out.
"Down here!" her voice said, coming from the basement. The three followed her voice down into the basement, where they found Twilight at her desk. She had her microscope on top of it and was constantly looking into it before scribbling notes down furiously on a piece of parchment. She turned to greet her friends once they had reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Girls, this is unexpected. What can I do for you?" she asked with a grin.
"We thought it would be best to get Fluttershy out of her house for awhile," Rainbow Dash said, looking over at Fluttershy who just stared ahead blankly.
"What'cha working on?" Pinkie asked with a smile, hopping over to Twilight's desk and taking a look. Twilight quickly covered up her parchment and hid whatever was on the microscope.
"Sorry Pinkie, but this is a secret project," Twilight said, having to move the slide to keep Pinkie from getting a look at it. "Please don't ask why. I don't want anypony to know." She moved it behind her back only to have it snatched away from her by Fluttershy, who looked at it with narrow eyes.
"This is a piece of Susie," she said in a deadly whisper. Twilight leviatated the slide back over to her, looking around at her friends with a bashful smile.
"Okay, you caught me. I was examining a piece of Susie so I could compare her blood and DNA to the Hulk's," she said with a sigh. "It's just been bugging me. I've never seen anything so resistant and so stubborn as Banner's--or the Hulks--blood. Nothing I used worked on it: Chemicals, spells--I even just tried blasting it and that didn't work. I wanted to see if another creature that had been infected by gamma would be just as resilient."
"And was she?" Rainbow Dash asked while Fluttershy glared at Twilight with venom in her eyes. Twilight rubbed the back of her head and looked down at her notes.
"Well...no. With a number of different spells and chemicals, I was able to cure the gamma poisoning in Susie's blood," she said, showing them the now normal piece of snake. "That tells me that only the Hulk is indestructible. Even if we were to give another creature a dose of his blood, it would probably only mutate them, not put them on the same level as him. This is all hypothesis, of course."
"So Susie didn't have to die?" Fluttershy asked in a whisper. When Twilight didn't answer, she walked right up to her and glared into her eyes, forcing an answer out of her.
"W-well, no. I suppose she didn't have to," Twilight said with a stammer. Fluttershy turned and headed for the stairs. "Wait, where are you going?"
"To give the Hulk a piece of my mind," she said with venom. She reached for the door only to have a rainbow bolt stop her.
"That's a bad idea, Shy," Rainbow Dash warned her. "You remember what Hulk did the last time you yelled at him and I think that was because he was too tired to kill you. Don't go and make him angry, that doens't end well for anypony." Fluttershy shook off Rainbow's hoof and opened the door, leaving the library to go find the Hulk. The three ponies looked at each other with worry.
"One of us should go with her," Twilight said.
"I'll do it," Pinkie volunteered. When her friends gave her skeptical looks, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "So far, I'm the only pony around that can talk to the Hulk without being made into pancake in the process. Mmm, pancakes. Er...I mean that he tried to smash me, but was unable to. I'm going to go with her." Before either of the two friends could argue, Pinkie shot up the stairs and out of the library. She hadn't just agreed to go to keep Fluttershy safe, but also because she too had some questions for the Hulk. She spotted Shy in the distance and galloped after her.
---=-=---
As he tromped through the forest that was on the outskirts of Ponyville, Hulk growled to himself at what had happened during the battle with the snake. It had been a lot weaker than he had been expecting, even if it had his blood. He had hoped it would have put up a bit more of a fight than it did. Then there were the ponies. Even after he had smashed the snake, they still wanted to hurt him, he could see it in their eyes. The only 'plus' that he had gained was that Banner was no longer talking to him. He had only agreed to save them if Banner left and so far he had kept that promise.
"At least Hulk is alone now," he grumbled to himself, looking around at the scenery. The trees had yellow and orange leaves on them, leaves that gently floated off the trees to the ground beneath his feet. While most would see this as beautiful, the Hulk saw it as annoying. "Stupid leaves bug Hulk. Why can't anything leave Hulk alone?" he growled, coming to a small clearing. He spotted a stream and knelt down beside it, cupping one massive hand and scooping out some water. He was about to drink it when he heard a sound that annoyed him--the sound of someone crying. He stood up and headed for the source of the noise, planning to make whoever it was pay. He eventually came across five ponies, three of whom were laughing at another who was in the dirt.
"Look at you. You're so frail and weak, yet you want to be a great adventurer?" a pink one with a crown said with a smile. "You're so pathetic that I'm certain that even a small bug would be able to beat you." The pony in the dirt didn't respond, he just pushed himself back to his hooves with tears running down his face.
"Yeah, you're just a...pipsqueak!" a yellow pony with bluish-green hair laughed. His buddy next to him, who was blue with brown hair, laughed as well. Only the grey one didn't laugh, she just stood watching through her glasses. The white pony with the brown spots pushed himself to his hooves and glared at the others.
"Pipsqueak is my name, that's not what I am," he spat. The pink one raised an eyebrow with a smile.
"Who said you could talk? After all, that yap of yours is what got me in trouble in class today," she said with a frown. "Snips. Snails. I think he needs another mud bath." The two dumb-looking ponies grinned and advanced towards him.
"Don't bother fighting, you're too puny to fight back," the one called Snails said as he grabbed his arm.
"Maybe I am now, but one day I'll be...Hulk," Pipsqueak whispered, his eyes looking through the trees at the monster that was standing in them. All of the other ponies turned to face him with fear in their eyes as he stomped out of the forest, walking over to the two that were holding onto Pipsqueak. They dropped him and ran behind the pink one, cowering with their hooves over their eyes. Hulk marched over to her and glared down at her, while she glared back up.
"I don't know why you're here, you ugly freak," she said with a sneer as she looked at him, "but I'll have you know that my daddy is one of the most important stallions in town and if you so much as touch me he'll--" Her words were cut off mid- sentence as Hulk grabbed her with his thumb and index finger, growling at her as he brought her to eye level.
"Puny pink pony talk too much," he snarled, causing her eyes to shrink. He wanted to smash her, but then he looked down at the mud puddle and had a better idea. "Puny pony needs to be quiet." He lumbered over to the mud puddle and dropped the pony in it, smiling as she screamed in the mud.
"AAAAAHHHHH!! You stupid idiot!" She roared, looking up at him through the mud in her eyes. "Do you know how long it takes to get mud..." She stopped when Hulk got down to one knee and glared at her, his eyes narrowing.
"Puny pony call Hulk stupid?" he asked, looking from her to the other three. "HULK SMASH ALL SMALL PONIES!" He roared, throwing his hands over his head and charging towards them. They screamed and sped off back to town, leaving Hulk alone to smile. "Now Hulk can get some quiet," he muttered. He turned to go back to the stream, but found the small white pony with brown spots was in his way.
"Move," Hulk growled. The pony hide his face when Hulk growled at him, but then gingerly looked back up.
"Um...thanks for scaring the bullies off," he said timidly.
"Hulk no did it to help you. Hulk just want quiet," he snarled, causing the colt to hide under his hooves. Hulk growled and stepped over the pony, heading back into the forest. Pipsqueak brought his head back up and, going against his better judgment, followed Hulk into the forest.
"How did you get so strong?" he asked Hulk. Hulk growled and turned to face him.
"Hulk always strong. Hulk strongest there is," he said with a snarl, hoping to scare the pony off. While Pipsqueak did take shelter behind a tree, he didn't run away. Hulk noticed and growled yet again, slamming his feet into the ground and launching himself skyward. He landed far away from the small pony and found himself once again alone on a small grassy hill. He sighed and sat down, finally alone.
'Care to tell me what that was about?' Hulk roared in frustration and slammed his fist into whatever was next to him, but he hit nothing. 'I see that your temper hasn't improved since we last met.' Hulk growled at the silver mare and tried to crush her in his grasp, but she slipped through. 'We had this discussion last time. You're power means nothing to me.'
"Hulk can still ignore you," Hulk snarled, putting his arms on his knees and resting his head on them. Much to his annoyance, she sat down beside him and stared at the sky, which was just starting to show its first stars as the sun set. They sat in silence for a minute before she spoke again.
'You still haven't answered my question. Why did you intervene in that colts trouble?' she asked again. Hulk growled and put his hands to his ears, but her voice still echoed through them. He knew that she wouldn't stop until he answered her question.
"Hulk tired of hearing ponies talk, so Hulk made ponies go quiet!" he roared at her. She didn't even flinch as he glared at her, turning her attention back to the sky.
'So you did not go there to help him?'
"Why would Hulk help ponies? All Hulk wants is to be alone."
'I figured as much,' she said with a sigh. 'So why do you want to be alone so bad? What has happened to you that you hate to be near anypony?'
"Because all ponies do is bug Hulk!" he roared. "Hulk tired of being annoyed, tired of being attacked! That's why Hulk want to be alone!"
'You didn't say anything about being attacked,' she noted. 'Who would dare to attack you?' Hulk went to answer, then realized that she had tricked him into talking. He snarled at her and sat back down, closing his mouth. 'Well?'
"Pony starting to annoy Hulk," Hulk growled in a threatening manner. "If pony no go, Hulk smash."
'You cannot smash me. And you are not the only one getting annoyed at the stubbornness of somepony,' the silver mare said in a less-than-thrilled voice. 'All you do is complain about how you want to be alone and how everypony hates you, but from what I've seen, since you got here you have been very well-treated. I'd say that you are just afraid to get close to--" The moment she mentioned him being afraid, Hulk's fury shot through the roof and he spun to face her as he drove both arms down on her. But much to his surprise, his arms came to a stop over her head, caught in a silver aura. Then a flash of silver radiated from her and Hulk felt himself sailing backwards, smashing through multiple trees and rocks until he came to a stop. Hulk growled as he got to his feet, preparing to let out a roar...but stopped as he felt pain race through his chest.
"Pony...hurt Hulk," Hulk said in disbelief as the silver mare appeared in front of him. Hulk's wrath cooled down to a cold fury, his eyes narrowing as he took up a more defensive pose. The silver pony had managed to hurt him without much effort on her part, and there were few who could do that. He glared at her flickering body, which seemed to appear then vanish quickly.
'As I said, your power means nothing to me,' she whispered, before shaking her head and holding a hoof to it. Hulk prepared his next attack, when the silver pony suddenly turned her head to the side before she looked back at Hulk. 'I will say farewell for now. But I will speak with you again.' She vanished in a flash of light, leaving Hulk standing there confused.
"Hey."
Hulk growled and spun around...to stare right into the eyes of a very angry Fluttershy.
"You killed her," Fluttershy said in cold whisper, staring murder into his eyes. "She didn't even know what she was doing and you killed her."
"Hulk smash anything that attack Hulk, even small pony," he growled back, glaring into her eyes. The normally timid pony glared back with her own fierce rage, causing the both of them to press their skulls against one another in an effort to intimidate the other. "Puny pony better leave Hulk alone. Or Hulk smash you."
"You better say you're sorry for what you did to Susie or I'LL smash you," she replied. Hulk blinked twice and looked at the pony with a dumbfounded look on his face. Then he began to laugh, a laugh so powerful that it shook the ground. Fluttershy looked at him in disbelief as he started to pound the ground, he was laughing so hard. "What's so funny?" she asked him coldly. He stopped laughing and turned back to her, the rage back in his eyes.
"Hulk find it funny that puny pony think that it can hurt Hulk," he said, slowly advancing towards her, opening and closing his fists. "Puny pony better leave...or Hulk smash pony." Fluttershy and Hulk both growled at each other, again pushing their foreheads against the other. Fluttershy was preparing to stare the rage right out of the Hulk, whereas Hulk was debating if he should throw her to the moon. Before either could move though, a pink blur got between them and pushed them apart.
"Okay you two, break it up," Pinkie said in a gruff voice, physically separating the pair.
"He still hasn't apologized," Fluttershy growled. Hulk snarled back at her while Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders and moved her a ways back from the Hulk. Once the two of them had been seperated, Pinkie glared into Fluttershy's eyes.
"Are you crazy?!" Pinkie asked her friend in disbelief. "Are you trying to get yourself crushed? You don't go picking a fight with a guy that can send you to the moon by stomping the ground!"
"But he killed Susie!" Fluttershy raged back.
"Uh, yeah. After Susie grew about a hundred times her normal size and tried to wipe us out," Pinkie explained. Fluttershy didn't care and tried to push past her, forcing Pinkie to tighten her grip. "Look, I know you're upset about what happened to your friend, but she wasn't the only one who was lost."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean...in order to get the Hulk to save us, Banner sacrificed his control over the Hulk," Pinkie said sadly. When Fluttershy gave her a funny expression in reply, Pinkie sighed. "Banner was normally the dominant personality and the Hulk would only come out when he got angry. But he gave that up so that we'd be safe. Now the Hulk is in control and Banner is gone." Pinkie sighed in relief when she saw the rage vanish from Fluttershy's eyes, and instead they were filled with compassion.
"How do we get him out?" she asked in a worried tone.
"We can't," Pinkie said with a sad shake of her head. "If Hulk had just taken control, like how it's normally done, he would revert back to Banner whenever Hulk got tired. But since Banner gave Hulk control, only Hulk can decide when Banner can come back out."
"So what do we do?"
"We will not be doing anything," Pinkie replied with a smile. "YOU will be going back to Ponyville and continue to take care of your animal friends. I will be staying with the Hulk to make sure he doesn't get into trouble."
"But won't he hurt you?" Fluttershy asked in terror.
"Oh he'd love to," Pinkie said with an evil grin, looking back at the Hulk who was glaring at birds. "But as much as he wants to, he can't do anything about it since I'm...Pinkie." The explanation calmed Fluttershy down, so she headed home with one last glance at the Hulk. Pinkie sighed and wiped her forehead with her arm before walking over to Hulk with a smile.
"Hi there! How's my big, green friend?" she asked with a grin.
"Hulk not your friend! Hulk want no friends!" Hulk snarled in reply, standing up and walking off. Pinkie started to hop after him, humming a tune to herself. "Why pink pony no leave Hulk alone? Leave! Or Hulk smash you!"
"You already tried that," she sang in response, switching from humming to whistling, much to Hulk's annoyance. "So why don't you want any friends? Is it because you get mad at them? Or do they not like your sparkling personality?"
"All Hulk's friends try to hurt Hulk, try to make him weak," he growled, remembering everything that happened in his past as he marched on. "But Hulk was too strong for them! Hulk smashed so-called friends and tried to find a place he could be alone. But none of Hulk's friends wanted Hulk to be alone. So they returned with their gun and gods to try and smash Hulk! But Hulk is strongest! HULK SMASHED PUNY MEN AND PUNY GODS!" While all the animals in the area fled for their lives, Pinkie started to process what Hulk had told her. If he wasn't lying, the other people on his planet hunted the Hulk and constantly tried to kill him. Banner had told them that he fled from place to place to keep others safe. But what if he was also trying to protect the Hulk?
"Wow, sounds like you had terrible friends," Pinkie said. "...Hey, I know. I'll be your friend!"
"No. Hulk no want friends. Hulk want to be alone." Pinkie frowned in frustration. She didn't see the Hulk so much as a rage-filled monster, but more like a stubborn child. She ran around in front of Hulk and started to walk backwards.
"Come on, I'm a great friend!" she said convincingly. "Just ask Twilight. Wait, you don't like Twilight. Just ask Flut...right, don't like her either. Um...I'm sure there are plenty of other ponies that can tell you how great a friend I am." Hulk's very thin patience had reached its breaking point and he had had enough. He used his massive leg muscles to jump far off into the distance. He landed in an even thicker forest, a forest that felt unnatural to him, more so than Everfree. He stood up and began to walk, glad to be away from--
"Wow this place feels weird." Hulk sighed and looked behind him to find Pinkie looking around with awe. "This place feels a lot different from the Everfree I'm used to. Why do you think that is?"
"Puny pony not going to leave Hulk alone, is she?"
"Nope!" Hulk wanted to smash her, but he knew that it was pointless and that she'd just do...whatever it was that she did to survive. So he continued to walk while she yammered on about what she did in Ponyville and how many friends she had made. He was just about ready to let Banner back out so he could deal with her when he realized that she had stopped walking and talking. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at something off in the distance. Hulk lumbered over to find that she was staring at a massive cave--a cave that was as tall as one of the skyscrapers back home. How had he missed that?
"What in cave?" Hulk asked her. She immediately spun towards him and 'shushed' him.
"Be quiet," she whispered, looking at the cave with fear. "That cave might house an...Ursa Major." Hulk didn't bother asking what an Ursa Major was, he figured she'd tell him in a second. He did have a question for her though.
"Why puny pony afraid of Ursa Major and not of Hulk? Hulk stronger than Ursa Major."
"First: because there's no reason to be afraid of you," she said in a whisper. That confused Hulk. What did she mean by, 'there was no reason to be afraid' of him? "Second: no, you're not. Ursa Majors are the strongest thing in Equestria. They can destroy cities with ease." Hulk had been debating if he should go see what an Ursa Major was, but now he had to. If the pony thought it was stronger than Hulk, Hulk would have to prove her wrong. Hulk marched right past Pinkie and headed into the cave. She quietly 'yelled' at him to come back out, but he ignored her and kept walking. Going into the cave seemed to have the added bonus that Pinkie wasn't following him. That bonus was short-lived as Pinkie came racing up behind him, nervously looking around.
"We should not be in here," she said softly, scanning the cave and jumping at every noise. "If we run into an Ursa Major, we're so dead."
"Hulk not afraid of Ursa. Hulk smash it," Hulk growled, looking around for the Ursa.
"That's because you're too stupid to realize when you're outmatched," Pinkie hissed, her fear getting the better of her. Hulk snarled in reply, then came to a stop as he ran into a wall of blue. It wasn't fur, it looked more like stars and a galaxy. Hulk growled and kicked it once before Pinkie latched onto his head.
"Are you crazy? That's an Ursa Minor! You don't want to fight with it." Hulk reached up and pried her off of his face, tossing her aside. He then inhaled deeply and let loose a massive roar. Pinkie ran behind a rock as the giant wall of blue began to move, lifting a massive bear head that began to look around. Its eyes looked at Hulk and widened a bit. It rose to its full height and Hulk then realized why Pinkie was so afraid of it. It towered over him and looked like a massive bear with the galaxy drawn on it. But while the ponies may be afraid of it, Hulk knew no fear.
"Ponies say that puny bear is stronger than Hulk! Hulk smash-!" Even though Pinkie was terrified of the giant bear, she laughed out loud as the Ursa Minor began to bat Hulk back and forth between its paws. It hadn't seen him as a threat, but instead as a plaything. She was practically on the floor, she was laughing so hard as Hulk was knocked back and forth.
"Puny...bear...annoying...Hulk!" Hulk growled as he was used as a ball. He slammed his feet into the ground and brought himself to a stop. The bear smiled at him and swatted him with its right paw, sending the roaring Hulk off into the distance. The Ursa Minor sprang up and ran out of the cave after him, leaving Pinkie to guess where they were going.
---=-=---
"And you're certain that he threatened to crush you?" Twilight asked Diamond Tiara, who had come to her after her encounter with the Hulk. She nodded with tears in her eyes, smiling to her friends once Twilight looked away. "Alright, I'll talk to him and see what I can do." She sighed as the four foals walked off, missing Banner more and more. While the Hulk might have helped them when Susie went rampant, without something to fight he seemed to take out his aggression on others. She walked back over to her friends, who had been listening as well.
"Alright girls, we need to find the Hulk and talk to him," she told them.
"Are ya sure this is a good idea?" Applejack asked. "Ah mean, he doesn't seem like the kind of pony that likes to talk."
"Not to mention that he is an utter brute," Rarity said with a sigh.
"And he has a habit of smashing anything that looks at him funny," Rainbow Dash added.
"I know all that, but we need to at least get him to stay outside the town," Twilight said. "He's far too dangerous to keep inside Ponyville. He could take down a building if he swings his arm the wrong way. So we need to--"
"TWILIGHT!" All of the ponies screamed as Pinkie came screeching to a halt in front of them. "We have trouble. Big, BIG trouble!"
"Pinkie, calm down. What kind of trouble?" Twilight asked.
"It's Hulk. He kinda-"
"...ggggggrrraaaAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Pinkie was cut off mid-sentence as Hulk came crashing to the ground. The impact made a massive crater in the center of town and the force of impact was so great that he bounced out of the crater and rolled a few times. He quickly got up, however, and glared off towards Everfree. The ponies were just about to ask what was going on when the ground began to shake. They all looked over to the forest as the Ursa Minor came bursting through the trees, looking around for Hulk. Hulk roared and lept into the air, slamming his fist into the side of the bear. His power sent the bear tumbling into the town, knocking over multiple buildings in the process. The Ursa got up with a whine and looked around, not noticing that Hulk had lept into the air over him and was coming down with both fists extended. He landed fist first into the bear's back and drove it into the ground. While he continued to pound on it, the ponies looked on in disbelief.
"Is Hulk fighting an Ursa Minor?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Is Hulk punching out an Ursa Minor?" Rarity asked with her jaw dropped.
"Was this what you tried to warn us about?" Twilight asked Pinkie, who could only nod dumbly in response. The Ursa Minor rolled over and swatted Hulk with its paw, sending him sailing through multiple buildings, coming to a stop right in front of the ponies. He looked up at Pinkie with a smirk.
"Puny pony said that bear was stronger than Hulk! Hulk will smash bear!" he yelled as he jumped back to his feet and charged back towards the bear. It had just gotten back to its feet when Hulk tackled it in the side, bringing them both down. He rolled it over and jumped onto its chest, throwing lefts and rights into its sternum. It tried to swat him off, but this time he blocked its paw and grabbed hold of its wrist, snapping it with a twist. The Ursa cried out in pain and rolled the Hulk off. Hulk landed with a smile as the bear limped back, realizing that Hulk was not a plaything.
"Puny bear thought it was stronger than Hulk," Hulk said with a smile, advancing towards the injured bear while cracking his knuckles. "HULK SHOW BEAR WHO THE STRONGEST IS!" Hulk launched himself into the air and came crashing onto its back with a massive elbow drop. The impact knocked the bear to the ground while Hulk landed beside it. Hulk then grabbed its hind leg and began to swing it, all of his muscles straining as he built up more and more speed. He then let go and watched as the bear flew across town and landed outside of Ponyville, whimpering to itself in pain. Hulk lept across town and landed next to the Ursa, preparing to finish it.
"Wait a minute!" came the urgent shout. Hulk growled and turned towards the five ponies that ran over to him. "Hulk, I know you like to fight, but you can't hurt it!" Twilight yelled at him.
"Why? Puny bear picked fight with Hulk! Hulk smash puny bear," he growled. He turned to go back to fighting the Ursa when the ground began to shake again.
"Oh no," Twilight whispered. All of the ponies and Hulk looked towards the forest as an Ursa that dwarfed the Ursa Minor emerged from the forest. It was at least four times bigger than the Ursa Minor and infinitely angrier. It looked down on the Hulk and its injured child with rage filling its eyes. Twilight and the others each looked to Hulk with fear.
"What?" he asked.
"You've done something that no sane pony would do," Pinkie said in terror. "You made the mom angry."
"Um, girls? Did we ever come up with a plan for when an Ursa Major attacked?" Twilight asked her friends as the giant bear started to advance towards them. They could hear ponies beginning to panic in Ponyville, no surprise given the monster tht was walking towards them. In fact, the Elements of Harmony themselves were trying not to panic as well, given how the Ursa's head was the size of Ponyville. The Ursa Minor cried out for its mom and the Ursa Major headed right for them.
"Alright, what should we do Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked as she nervously hoofed the ground. "Do we run? Fight? Scream?"
"I...I don't know," Twilight said as the Ursa rose to its full height, it's body blocking out the sun and casting a shadow on them. "I think it be best if we-"
"Even punier bear think it a match for Hulk?" The ponies all turned to Hulk, who was looking up at the new opponent with a smile on his face. Pinkie immediatly knew what was going to happen and went to intervene.
"Don't you dare," she said as she raced in front of him. "Even you are no match for an Ursa Major! That thing is the strongest creature in the history of Equestria! It will-" The Ursa Major spotted Hulk, who was standing next to the Ursa Minor. It roared and charged to them, almost reaching them in two steps. Hulk roared in return and threw himself up at the bear. He was about the size of a pea compared to it and yet all of the ponies gasped with what happened next. Hulk rammed into the Ursa's gut head first with an impact that shook the earth. And the most powerful creature in Equestria...doubled over.
"Did he just...?" Applejack began, unable to finish her sentance. Hulk then lept up from the creatures gut and drove his knee into the beasts head, snapping its head back. As he sailed into the air over the Ursa, he lifted both hands over is head and prepared to strike. But the Ursa Major recovered faster than he thought and swung one of her massive paws into him, sending him flying into the center if Ponyville. Hulk shook his head as he pulled it out of the dirt and looked up to realize that a number of ponies had gathered around him.
"Are you okay, Dr. Banner?" one of them asked. Hulk looked over and realized that it was the foal that Banner had saved a few days ago. All of these ponies were looking at Hulk with looks of concern, not one of them seemingly afraid of him Hulk had just pulled himself out of the ground as a massive paw came heading down towards them, the size of it casting them all in shadow. Hulk quickly realized what was about to happen and sprung up, lifting both hands over his head as he did so.
"IF PUNY PONIES WANT TO LIVE, GET UNDER HULK!" he screamed at them. Most of the ponies were hesitant, but the foal ran under immediately and the others quickly followed just as the paw came crashing down. The ponies screamed as the ground underneath then shattered from the force of the Ursa Major driving it's paw down. Buildings were broken as the paw crushed them completely and the ground shook as the ponies screamed. But their screams were quickly drowned out by the roar that Hulk gave as he caught the massive paw, his body shaking under the weight. But as strong as the Ursa Major was, the Hulk was stronger still.
"GGGGRRAAAAAAHHHHH!" he roared as he began to push up on the Ursa's paw, pushing the creature back. The ponies under him, the ponies around that weren't under the paw and even the Ursa itself looked at him with awe as with a massive burst of strength, he threw the Ursa's paw off of him, the force causing the Ursa to take a step back.
"TINY BEAR THINK IT CAN SMASH HULK!?" he roared to the heavens with his arm outstretched, the sheer thought of him losing to this creature driving his rage through the roof. "HULK SMASH BEAR!!" Hulk shot off towards the Ursa with such force that the ponies under him were blown away by the shockwave. Hulk roared and brought a fist back, heading straight for the bears head. The Ursa opened it's mouth to catch him in mid air, biting down on the Hulk as he entered her mouth. The ponies gasped as the Ursa smiled, believing her foe to be beaten. Then the smile faded as her jaws began to open, two green hands lifting the teeth apart. Hulk roared as he pushed the Ursa's jaws open before stomping down on her tongue. She roared in pain as Hulk grabbed the top of her mouth and swung himself up onto her snout, running up it and driving his fist right between her eyes. The Ursa Major's eyes rolled back in her head as the sounds of bones cracking could be heard and she collapsed to the ground.
"HULK END YOU!" Hulk roared as he landed, growling as the bear got back up. It roared at him as it slammed it's claws into the Everfree forest and lifted a massive chunk of rock over it's head, looking down at the Hulk with a growl.
"We're all going to die," a pony by Hulk whispered. Hulk looked up at the massive boulder with a smirk, knowing how to deal with it. With another roar, Hulk shot himself in to the air towards the Ursa, slamming his hands together once he had gotten close enough. The shockwave generated by the Hulk slammed into the Ursa and the rock it was carrying and knocked them both over. The Ursa collapsed next to the town with a groan, the rock falling on top of the Ursa and rolling off of it. Hulk jumped onto her and stood triumphant on her head, letting loose a roar into the sky.
"GGGGRRRRAAAHHH!! PUNY BEAR THOUGHT IT WAS STRONGER THAN HULK! BUT PUNY BEAR NOT STRONGER! NO ONE STRONGER! HULK IS STONGEST THERE IS!!"
"Well I believe him," Pinkie said, looking at the carnage with disbelief. Hulk then jumped down from the top of the Ursa and jumped to the forest, uprooting one of the trees and breaking off the bottom of it so it would have a sharper edge. He then jumped back up to the barely conscious Ursa and walked over to it's eye, lifting the tree over his head.
"Puny bear try to hurt Hulk. But Hulk make sure that puny bear never bother Hulk again," he growled, waiting until the ber had opened its eye before he went in for the finishing blow.
"Hulk stop!" Hulk turned and looked down at the ponies. Fluttershy had joined them and they were all looking up at him. He snarled and went to drive the tree down, but Pinkie appeared in front of him and stood between him and the Ursa.
"Move," he growled.
"No," she replied. "Hulk, don't do this. The Ursa Major didn't come here trying to pick a fight with you. That Ursa Minor you beat up on is her child. The only reason she attacked you was to defend her child. Please, let her go." Hulk frowned at the pony, not believing that she was trying to talk him down. Hulk was about to push past her when the Ursa Minor pushed itself to it's feet and limped over to its mom, whimpering and nudging her with its nose. The Ursa Major looked up at Hulk, her eyes seemingly asking him what would he do next. Hulk looked down at her, feeling the weight of the tree in his arms and the rage in his body. Then he felt the rage subside a bit and with a sigh, Hulk threw the tree back into the forest before looking the Ursa in the eye.
"Leave. And never bother Hulk again," he whispered. He then hopped off along with Pinkie and watched cautiously as the Ursa stood back up and rubbed her head. The Ursa Minor limped over and put its face in its mothers arms. The Ursa Major rose to her full height and walked back off into the forest, eventually vanishing from view. Once she was gone, Hulk sighed and turned around, heading back for the forest he had been earlier. The Elements of Harmony watched him go, looking on is disbelief.
"I don't believe it," Fluttershy said as she looked around at all the carnage. Ponyville was a wreck, the ground had been completely devestated and the two Ursa's barely walked away from the fight. "All this destruction. Why did it happened?"
"It happened because Hulk is incredibly stubborn," Twilight said with a frown. "Pinkie told Hulk not to mess with the Ursa's, but Hulk didn't listen and picked a fight with them instead."
"Well, he might have brought the trouble here, but he did help us," Pinkie said, trying to at least give him some credit.
"Yeah, but that's only because the Hulk hated the idea of something being stronger than him," Rainbow Dash said with a frown. "Trust me, if he didn't have a grudge against those two, he wouldn't have bothered to help. He only cares about combat, not anything else."
"We should be glad that it's over," Twilight said with a grateful sigh. "Come on, let's see how many were lost this time." The ponies headed into the town, preparing themselves for the worst. However, they found no bodies or any of the death that they had expected. The destruction level was high, but there had been no lives lost. Applejack and Twilight started talking to ponies and seeing what the damage was. Pinkie immediatly headed for the spot where the Ursa's paws had come down, expecting the ponies there to be the most distraught. But much to her surprise, she found a number of ponies talking excitedly to themselves.
"Hey everypony, what's happening?" she asked the group with a smile. An excited foal came rushing over to Pinkie's side with a huge smile on his face.
"Pinkie! I can't believe you missed it!" he said excitedly before coughing a little. "Dr. Banner landed in front of us in his huge monster form just as the giant paw was coming down. We all thought we were gonners, but then Dr. Banner told us to gather around him and he stopped it with his bare hands! I've never seen anypony so strong!"
"Wait a minute," Pinkie asked, certain that she had heard him wrong. "Did you just say that the HULK saved you?"
"Yeah! It was amazing! He told us to get under him while he lifted up the Ursa's paw!" the colt said with barely contianed excitement. "I thought we were dead, but he saved us!" The colt ran over to his mother to retell the story as Pinkie looked around with amazement. The ponies all around her were talking about how Dr. Banner (or the Hulk) had saved them. But Hulk found the ponies as annoying, so why would he bother to save something that bugged him? She had to find out. So faster than anypony could fathom, Pinkie shot off to find the Hulk.
---=-=---
Hulk could feel the weariness beginning to get to him. He hadn't been out this long for a while and his strength was beginning to waver a bit. Normally this was around the time that Banner would take over, but Hulk hadn't heard from him ever since the battle with that giant snake. Maybe Banner had vanished for good.
"At least Hulk finally alone," he muttered to himself as he stared at the forest below him. Hulk had climbed up a steep cliff after the Ursa's had wandered off just as the sun set again. He wanted to be alone so he could try and make sense of what had just happened. He had never spared a creature that had fought with him in the past, so why did he this time? He grunted and decided not to think about it. He laid back and tried to take pleasure in the fact that he was fina-
"Hiya Hulk!" Hulk let loose a roar of rage and sat up to find Pinkie sitting on his chest with a smile.
"What puny pony want?! Hulk told pony to leave Hulk-"
"Yeah yeah, leave you alone, I've heard it," she said with a grin. "But why would you want to be alone when you could instead be spending time with us?"
"Because puny pony annoying," Hulk growled, trying to swat her off his chest, but she vanished before he could hit her. He sat up and looked to his right where Pinkie was now sitting. "What puny pony want? Don't bother thanking Hulk for fighting bear."
"Why would I bother thanking you?" she asked with a smile. "It's your fault that the Ursa's attacked our home anyway. If you hadn't been so stubborn and listened to me, none of this would have happened."
"If puny pony hadn't said bear stronger than Hulk, Hulk wouldn't have had to prove pony wrong!" Hulk shot back.
"Well if yooouuuuuu had any brains in your green head, you would realize that you don't have to pick a fight with anything that somepony says is stronger than you," Pinkie replied. "What if I said that the sun was stronger than you?"
"Then Hulk smash sun," Hulk replied with a grunt. Pinkie sighed and rolled her eyes, amazed at how thick Hulk could be. But despite how it had started, Hulk had saved them and protected some ponies from the Ursa's wrath. That deserved thanks at the very least.
"But...thanks for protecting those ponies in the town. I honestly didn't expect that out of you. I thought they annoyed you, so why'd you save them?"
"Hulk didn't save ponies. Hulk just wanted to show that he stronger than bear," Hulk replied.
"Uh-huh," Pinkie said, not believing him. She was skilled at telling when a pony was lying or not and Hulk was definitely lying, but he'd never admit it. "Anyway, to say thanks I got you this." She pulled out a large present and balanced it on the top of Hulks head. "It's a little gift from me to you." Hulk reached up and grabbed the present, which was fairly small to him. His hands were too big for it so Pinkie had to open it for him. He snarled when he saw it was a picture of him and her with the words best friends under it.
"Hulk don't want it," he growled, throwing it back at Pinkie.
"Okay, then how bout this?" She asked as she held up a small cake, which Hulk also tossed back at her. Pinkie caught it and looked up at Hulk with tears in her eyes.
"W-why?" she asked him with a sniffle. "Don't you want to be my friend?"
"Hulk don't want friends," Hulk growled. His rage was reaching its boiling point and the fact that he was tired wasn't helping matters. "Hulk wants to be alone."
"But I'll even set up a party for you at Applejack's farm," Pinkie protestes, oblivious to the fact that Hulk was getting angrier and angrier. "All the ponies will be there so they can thank you."
"Hulk doesn't want a party, Hulk wants to be-"
"And Twilight also wants to talk to you. I mean, she wants to talk to Banner, but that's you in a-"
"NO! PUNY PONY BE QUIET!" Hulk roared as he spun to face Pinkie, his rage shaking the earth beneath them. "HULK NO WANT PARTIES! NO WANT TO TALK! HULK JUST WANTS TO BE ALONE!" Pinkie backed up a little, surprised where this sudden rage had come from. But she had been getting angry at him and his stubborness as well.
"Well I want to talk! Like why won't you try and make friends? Or why are you always so anrgy?!" she yelled back. "I have tried to be nice to you since you showed up and all you've done is scream at me and threatened to smash us! What is your problem? Why won't you let anypony be your friend?"
"BECAUSE HULK SMASH HIS FRIENDS!" He roared, shaking with rage. "HULK'S FRIENDS ALWAYS SAY THEY HULK'S FRIENDS, BUT THEN THEY TRY TO HURT HULK AND HULK FORCED TO FIGHT THEM! ALL HULK'S FRIENDS TRY TO HURT HULK! HULK IS TIRED OF HAVING TO FIGHT SO-CALLED FRIENDS! HULK TIRED OF FIGHTING AND TIRED OF SMASHING! ALL HULK WANTS IS TO BE LEFT ALONE SO HULK NO SMASH!" When Pinkie didn't respond, Hulk tured and lept off into the forest. Pinkie sat stunned, shocked by what she had heard. Hulk was tired of fighting? But that's what he lived for, wasn't it? And did he say all his so called friends hurt him? Was that why he refused to trust others, why he wanted to be alone?
"Hulk..." she whispered to herself as she watched the Hulk jump off once again. She realized that talking about friends probably brought up bad memories for him. She couldn't imagine her friends trying to hurt her and from what Hulk had said, it happened multiple times. And the reason he wanted to be alone was so...others wouldn't get hurt?
"Hulk...have you being trying to protect us from you, just like Banner?" Pinkie asked herself.
Author's Note
More errors! The Ursa fell on my keyboard.
'How goes the search?' the dark energy asked Chrysalis as she and Discord re-entered the ritual area. It had been drawing power from the dark energy around it, slowly but surely building up power. It had summoned Discord and Chrysalis back after a day, not wanting to be kept waiting.
"Not well," Chrysalis said with a frown. "My studies of Canterlot show that they are far too well-prepared for another attack even though it has been nearly a year since my last one."
"And they set up chaos sensors while I was away," Discord said with a sigh. "However, while I was in Ponyville the other day I found something of much greater interest than what the princesses are up to." When both of them looked at him funny (well, Chrysalis looked, the darkness just flickered), Discord smiled and held up a bottle with green liquid in it. "This is just what the doctor ordered. While in Ponyville, I watched a great two-round death match that tore apart that town and threw the whole pony community into chaos. It was lovely. Unfortunately for me, I got crushed under the giant green ogre and was sent flying. But imagine my surprise when I woke up in Twilight's tree and found this little beauty just waiting there for me."
'And what does this have to do with me?' the darkness asked him. Discord snickered and started bouncing the bottle off his elbows.
"Only that with this you will have the blood of the strongest creatures in Equestria," Discord said with a chuckle. "With this in you, odds are no pony will be able to stop you."
'Then what are you waiting for? Place it on the circle." Discord walked over to the circle while whistling, opening the bottle and pouring the blood into the circle's center. The green blood vanished into mist as the circle began to glow. The dark shadow moved into the center of the circle and began to suck in the power if the titan's blood. Chrysalis and DIscord backed up as its body--that had been lost long ago--began to reform, filled with the power of the Hulk. Chyrsalis watched in amazement while Discord watched with amusement as an alicorn's body formed from the darkness, Hulk's blood flowing through her. Her blue mane grew back out and a cresent moon appeared on her flank. She opened her blue eyes and laughed out loud as she descended to the ground.
"Yes! I have finally returned!" Nightmare Moon yelled out as she landed. The moment her hooves touched the ground, the ground shattered beneath her. "I see that you made a wise choice in getting the Hulk's blood. My physical powers have never been stronger! With my current powers, I could retake Canterlot with ease!"
"Unless that giant green monstrosity ripped you apart like it did the serpent," Discord said with a chuckle. "Trust me, a frontal assault is the last thing you want with that beast still around."
"Then what do you propose, oh 'Master of Chaos'?" Chrysalis said with a smirk. "Last time I checked, none of your plans have proven to be any good."
"Simple. I've already seen that the beast has a short temper and a tendency to destroy things when he's angry. All we need to do is cause an accident and make it look like it's the Hulk's fault. The ponies will hate him and either he will be exiled or he'll smash them all. Either way it's a win-win for us."
"I hate to admit it, but that is a good plan," Chrysalis said with a frown. "I would have to agree with Discord, which sickens me to say." Nightmare Moon thought about it for a minute, before nodding in agreement.
"Very well, but it will have to be in the morning. Right now my powers are still weak at best, and I must go recharge in the lunar rays. Do not do anything without consulting me." She vanished in a flash, leaving the two there alone.
"So, where are you heading?" Chrysalis asked Discord.
"What? Do you honestly think that I would disobey...I'm going to go mess around in Celestia's dreams," he said with a shrug.
"Isn't that the opposite of laying low?"
"No way. I'm certain Celestia dreams of me all the time," he said with a grin.
"That is disturbing," Chrysalis said with a shake of her head, flapping her wings and flying out through a window. Discord snapped his fingers and vanished in a puff a smoke.
---=-=---
Hulk climbed up the side of the mountain, heading for the cave that rested at the top of it. He had been searching all day for a place to rest since he wasn't welcome in Ponyville, and he wasn't going to rest in a place that the puny pony might find him. So this cave was his best bet. Hulk grabbed the ledge above him and pulled himself up into the cave. The cavern was filled with gold and jewlery that would drive humans crazy, but Hulk was more concerned with the dragon that had been sleeping in the center of the room. It lifted it's neck and roared at him, trying to scare him off.
"Puny dragon shouldn't attack Hulk!" he roared in warning. The dragon inhaled and let loose a torrent of flames upon the Hulk, shooting a column of fire out of the cave entrance. Hulk put both hands over his face and started to march forward through the flames. Hulk leapt out of the fire and slammed his fist into the dragon's head, knocking him over. Hulk landed and grabbed the dragon by the tail, dragging him to the entrance and tossing the dragon, watching with a smirk as it landed in the forest below. Hulk walked back into the cave and smashed his foot on the ground, causing the floor to give way and for all the gold to fall into the darkness below. With all the trash out of the cave, Hulk leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes, beginning to dream.
Hulk opened his eyes to find himself back on earth, in a massive building known as Stark Towers. He looked down from the balcony on which he was standing to the city below, noticing that all seemed to be oddly quiet. Hulk shook his head and walked inside, being immediately greeted by friends and comrades. Captain America walked over to him and said something about what a great help Hulk had been defeating the Kraang. While others tried to do the same, Hulk pushed past them as he looked around for someone. He marched over to the doors and ripped them off the hinges, only to find swarms of soldiers standing on the stairs inside. In front of them stood a man with a white mustache and wearing a military uniform.
"Found you," he said with a grin before giving the command. The soldiers behind him began to open fire as the Hulk roared in rage. Thor was the first to respond by tackling the Hulk to the ground, trying to stop the carnage before it began. Hulk roared and threw him off before barreling into the soldiers. Tony called out to the security system and a moment later a metal-like suit slammed into the front of Hulk, knocking him back. Captain went for his shield while Thor brought his hammer down on the Hulk's head, dazing the giant.
"I do not wish to do this, Hulk, but other wise you will-" Hulk reached around and grabbed Thor, tossing him through the window and down into the streets. The other two Avengers on hand tried to hold him back, but Hulk barreled through them and lept onto the stairwell, bringing it down along with the soldiers. Hulk pulled himself back up just as Tony came out in the 'Hulkbuster' armor.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this Hulk," Tony said as the faceplate slammed shut. "But I'm going to bring you-" Hulk slammed into Tony and drove the both of them out through the side of the building, Hulk punching Tony on the way down until they landed in the streets. The 'Hulkbuster' stood up only to receive a right hand to the face that cracked the helmet. Thor drove his hammer into Hulk's back before he could continue pounding on Tony, and Hulk spun around to drive both fists into Thor's chest. As Thor sailed off, Hulk turned back to Tony to pound him...only to see that Princess Luna was looking at him from across the street.
"GRAH!" Hulk roared as he awoke, sitting up and looking to his side while panting. Princess Luna was indeed sitting next to him with a curious expression on her face.
"That was a very interesting dream," she said calmly. "After talking to Banner, I expected your dreams to be a blood bath. Yet you only attacked to defend yourself. You are supposed to be a monster and yet..."
"Why puny pony in Hulk's head?" Hulk growled as he stood up and lumbered over to her. "Puny Pony shouldn't try to attack Hulk or Hulk smash!"
"I was not trying to attack you; just trying to see what went on in your head besides 'smash'," she said with a smile as she stood up. "You have proven to be an interesting creature to observe so far. You seem to have a reputation as a monster of destruction, yet you only fight when attacked and just want to be alone."
"All Hulk wants is to be alone! It's all Hulk wants," he growled, not liking that she could enter his mind. Whenever that happened in the past, it ended badly for everyone. Luna stood up and bowed.
"As you wish. The stars know what would happen if I try to argue." She opened her wings and walked over to the ledge, looking back at the Hulk before she left. "You are a very curious creature Hulk. You say you're a monster, but unlike me, you have not tried to force your rule upon the land. You just want to be alone. But trust me when I say this, Hulk. You don't want to be alone all your life. It is a terrible fate." She flapped her wings and sailed into the sky, leaving Hulk alone just as he requested. Hulk sighed and sat back down, closing his eyes and letting the dream continue.
---=-=---
"Hiya Hulk!" Hulk growled as he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Pinkie's smiling face. Hulk figured he would have nightmares for weeks as he stood up and stretched, looking at the rising sun in the distance. He looked down at himself to also realize that he was still Hulk, which was odd because he normally turned into puny Banner whenever he slept.
"How puny pony find Hulk?" he asked as he groggily walked out of the cave, Pinkie hopping along behind him.
"Silly. I watched you throw that dragon into the school yesterday and knew that you were up here," she explained, informing Hulk that he had accidently tossed a fire breathing dragon into a school of fillies. "I would have bothered you last night, but Luna asked me to leave you alone. Apparently she thinks that you're more than a monster, but I'm not sure that the other ponies see it. Twilight's furious at you by the way."
"Hulk no care," Hulk muttered, but Pinkie knew that there was no truth to those words. Hulk jumped down the mountain and slammed into the ground, sighing as Pinkie landed on the ground next to him and bounced like a rubber ball. "How puny pony do that?"
"Do what?" she asked as she hopped in front of him with that annoying smile of hers. "By the way, since you totally trashed the school house, the school foals will be taking a tour of the Ponyville Dam today. I want you to go visit them and apologize for what you did."
"No."
"If you don't, I'll do this," she said before hopping up on his head and looking at him upside down. "PPPPPPLLLLLLLLEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEE!"
"Okay! Hulk go apologize," Hulk growled with his hands on his ears. Pinkie smiled and hopped off his head.
"Follow me! I know a shortcut!" she happily said as she hopped off. Hulk spotted the dam off in the distance and decided to get there faster. He used his powerful leg muscles to leap into the air and fly across the land, passing over the town and landing near the dam. Hulk smiled at the fact that he had beaten her, only to be disappointed to find that she was already there. Hulk heard voices and looked down from the hill on which he had landed to see the school ponies walking behind a bigger pony, looking bored out of their minds.
"Hey, Hulk? What are you doing over there?" Pinkie asked, pointing towards the dam. Hulk looked over to see what looked like a purple version of himself walk over to the dam and drive his fist into it. The dam almost shattered under the force of the duplicate's punch and water started to shoot from the cracks.
"AHHHH! Somepony's trying to destroy the dam! We need to get Twilight!" Pinkie yelled, sprinting off towards Ponyville. She stopped and looked back when she realized Hulk wasn't following her. "Hulk! Didn't you hear me? We need to get Twilight!" Hulk frowned as he looked at the duplicate vanish into the darkness, noticing that the dam was about to burst. The teacher noticed it as well and started to yell at the students to run, but Hulk knew that they wouldn't make it. Hulk lept into the air and landed by the ponies.
"I-it's the Hulk!" one of them screamed and hid behind the teacher. Hulk's initial plan was to grab them and jump with them to safety, but then the dam decided to give out. Hulk turned to watch as an insane amount of water came cascading towards them.
"What do we do, Miss Cheerilee?" one of them asked.
"Gather around, foals. It'll be alright," the teacher said, gathering her students together. "It will be alright." Hulk looked at them as they gathered around, knowing that they had no chance against the flood. He would survive, he always did. But they wouldn't. Hulk let out a roar so massive that it shook the very earth.
"HULK SAVE PUNY PONIES!" he roared as he slammed his fists into the ground, shattering it and causing jagged rocks to erupt from the ground. Hulk then lifted the biggest piece he could at an angle, bracing himself in preperation for the water. "IF PUNY PONIES WISH TO LIVE, GET BEHIND HULK!" The ponies looked at each other and started to back away a bit, but a certain small colt with brown spots ran up behind Hulk.
"Come on everypony! Hulk will protect us!" he yelled at them. While they were hesitant at first, faced with a dam full of water the ponies ran behind him and braced themselves. Pinkie, who had still been watching from the distance, gasped as the Hulk and the class were swallowed by the water. All of the foals and their teacher had closed their eyes and braced for the end...but it never came. When they opened their eyes, they found that Hulk had used the slab of rock as a ramp for the water to go up and over. If they hadn't been so terrified, it would have been a beautiful sight, watching the water flowing around them. Hulk growled as the sheer pressure and force of the water began to drive him into the ground, yet he didn't budge an inch back. After what felt like hours, but was really only minutes, the torrent of water finally ended, letting Hulk drop the rock with a sigh. The water had gone over them and into a valley, flooding it. He looked back at the ponies who, besides being somewhat wet, were mostly unharmed.
"T-thank you," the ponies' teacher said to him after checking up on all her students. "You saved us."
"Hulk only saved ponies because Hulk wanted to," he grunted. The small class looked up at him with grateful smiles on their faces and gratitude in their eyes, something he wasn't used to. "Hulk still no like ponies," he grumbled. Before they could say anything or thank him, Hulk jumped into the air and landed far away. While most of the class felt relieved that Hulk had shown up, a certain pink pony was looking at him in a new light. Pinkie had always thought of the Hulk as a rage beast that did things that only benefited him. But now...
Pinkie narrowed her eyes and chased after the Hulk, preparing to get some answers out of him.
When Pinkie finally caught up with Hulk, she found him sitting by a riverside alone. His knees were drawn in and his arms were resting on them. Much to her surprise, she found a number of birds on him and multiple animals had surrounded him, as if they didn't care that he was a monster. She wasn't sure if he was sleeping or not, when Hulk growled at her and stood up, startling the birds and animals who ran off and hid. His growling at her had at least showed her that he was paying attention.
"What puny pony want?" Hulk growled, but there was no rage behind it.
"I just want to ask, what was that now?" Pinkie said with a smug smile. "Why'd you save those ponies and their teacher? I thought Hulk hated 'annoying' ponies and didn't care whether we lived or died."
"Hulk don't care. Hulk just..."
"Hulk just what? Doesn't like watching innocents getting hurt? Hulk doesn't like it when bullies hurt those weaker than them? I talked to Pipsqueak, the colt you helped out," Pinkie said with a smile when Hulk looked at her, wondering how she'd known. "I may be crazy, but I'm starting to think that Banner might have the wrong idea about you. That...I might have had the wrong idea about you."
"Puny not have wrong idea! Puny pony think Hulk a monster," Hulk said, this time with the rage behind his voice. "All ponies think Hulk a monster! Hulk is a monster!"
"Oh really?" Pinkie asked him, reaching over and pulling out a couch for her to sit on. "Let's recap then: You saved the ponies of Ponyville from a massive snake, named Susie. Then, you battled it out with TWO Ursa's and managed to keep all of the ponies alive as you did it. You then protected Pipsqueak from some bullies, even though you said that he was 'annoying'. And just moments ago, you saved a whole class full of ponies (whose school you destroyed) from a massive dam that burst and flooded the valley near here. Besides Lyra, I don't think that anyponies have been harmed since you got here."
"Is puny pony saying that Hulk a hero?" he said with a laugh. "Hulk is monster! Hulk is no hero."
"I beg to differ," Pinkie said, looking over the rim of her glasses that Hulk hadn't seen her put on. "Yes, you roar and yell a lot, but since you got here, ponies have only been saved by your actions."
"Hulk said, Hulk not hero!" Hulk roared at her, getting his face dangerously close to hers. Pinkie didn't bat an eye. "Now pony be quiet or Hulk-"
"Or Hulk what? Smash me?" she asked with a chuckle. Then she walked right up to him and stood close to his fist. "Go ahead, do it. I won't even move." Hulk looked at her in disbelief, not believing that she wouldn't move. He raised his fist into the air...then stopped. He just....couldn't do it. It wasn't Banner stopping him, Banner hadn't been heard from in days. Hulk just couldn't bring himself to hurt her. Hulk growled and then slammed his fist down right next to Pinkie. She looked at the crater he had made with a smile.
"I knew it. With all your yelling and threats, you actually can't hurt us," she said with a smug grin. "Or rather, you won't."
"That not true! Hulk throw cowardly pony into space!" Hulk argued.
"Yes, you threw a PEGASUS into the air, the only pony that can fly," Pinkie reminded him. "I'm fairly certain that you knew that she could stop herself from falling if needed. And for all your threats about smashing us, you haven't done it yet. If you were going to smash us, why haven't you? You could have done it to so many of the ponies that annoyed you."
"Hulk would smash ponies, but Hulk no feel like it," he argued, but Pinkie sighed.
"Do you even hear yourself? You've had so many chances to do it, but didn't," she said. "You could have smashed Twilight, but didn't. You could have torn Fluttershy apart, but chose to show her the planet from above. Celestia didn't stand a chance against you, but you let her and the others go. A monster wouldn't do that. Would a monster have stopped a massive snake from killing hundreds? Would a monster stop two bears that attacked a small town that no pony would miss. Would a monster hold up a bucking flood to save the lives of only a few children?!"
"Hulk-"
"And another thing. You always say that you're a monster and you want to be alone, but whenever a pony needs help, you're more than willing to fight for them. But if another tries to be nice or help you, you fly into a rage and yell at them!" she screamed herself, her own emotions getting a hold of her. "Why? Why do you hate friends so much? Why don't you want anypony to get close to you?"
"BECAUSE HULK SMASH ALL WHO GET CLOSE TO HIM!" he practically screamed, shaking the ground with his rage and his eyes flashing dangerously. "ALL HULK'S FRIENDS HURT HULK! HULK HURT ALL HULK'S FRIENDS! HULK IS TIRED OF SMASHING, TIRED OF BEING ATTACKED!...Hulk just wants to be alone." Finally, she had gotten to the root of the problem, and it wasn't that far from what she had guessed.
"I get it now," she said with understanding, all her fake rage draining out of her. "You're afraid to be close to others because you're afraid that either they'll either try to hurt you...or you'll crush them in one of you rages. Am I right?" Hulk looked at her for a minute before closing his eyes and looking away, not knowing how to answer--or wanting to. He walked back over to the stream and sat down, Pinkie joining him.
"Hulk have no friends," he said quietly, which scared Pinkie more than his rage ever had. "So Hulk stay alone, Hulk always alone. Hulk's friends try to hurt him or Hulk smash them. Hulk has no friends. Hulk a monster." Pinkie wanted to tell him that he wasn't a monster, but she knew it wouldn't work. So faster than most ponies could move, she ran back to Ponyville only to return a minute later with two foals on her back.
"Remember these two?" she asked as she showed him Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake.
"Why pony bring little ponies here?"
"To show you that you're not a monster. Hold out your hand." Hulk did as she asked and she put the two foals in his hand, indicating for him to bring them closer to his face. Hulk did so and looked at the foals who looked back up at him with interest. Hulk braced himself for the crying, the reaction all gave when they saw him. Then the two began to giggle and started to climb all over him. Pound Cake flew up on his head and started playing with his hair while Pumpkin started levitating herself up to his face so she could grab it.
"The foals never lie," Pinkie said with a smile as she took the two back from the Hulk and placed them on the ground, smiling as they started to try and catch bugs. "I've found that babies are a better judge of character than anypony I've met. And they don't see you as a monster, they see you as somepony they could trust. Just like I've come to do. I want to be your friend Hulk, please give me a chance."
"Hulk would smash you. Hulk always smashes."
"Please. You already tried to smash me and it didn't work, remember?" she said with a grin, elbowing him. When Hulk didn't respond, Pinkie tried something else. "And if you're afraid of us trying to hurt you, don't be. Even if we wanted to, I'm not sure we could. You're kinda stronger than anything I've ever seen." Hulk didn't answer and Pinkie once again waited as they both looked out over the river.
"Why you want to be Hulk's friend so bad?" Hulk eventually asked her.
"Because silly, nopony should be without friends, no matter who they are," she said with a smile. "So, do you want to be my friend? I won't try to hurt you. Cross my heart, hope to fly and stick a cupcake in my eye." Hulk watched her movements with uncertainty, not knowing what to do. He had tried this before, tried to make friends with someone, hoping they wouldn't try to hurt him. But they always did. But was the pony different? Would she stay true to her word?
"Why pony care for Hulk so much--after everything Hulk did?"
"Because I know that deep down you are good and I forgive you for what you've done here or in the past. You helped us out even after we treated you the way we did, after the way I treated you. I know you probably won't want to be friends with us, but can you give me one chance? Please, give me a chance to be your friend." Hulk sighed and closed his eyes, his knowledge of the past battling with his desire for those who would accept him. And when the battle ended...
"I'd also...like to apologize for the way me and my friends have treated you since you got here. It was wrong of us to treat you the way we did just because we saw you as different. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did and I'm sorry. I realize now that you are, and don't tell Twilight this, just as good or even a better pony than Banner is. Can you forgive me for judging you so harshly?" Hulk didn't answer since he was still going over it in his mind,. How many times had he heard the same promise before, the same lines? How many times had it all ended in pain from his so-called friends? But then...how tired was he of being alone? He knew that she was telling the truth, he could see it in her eyes. And that meant that she really was sorry and wanted to try and be his friend. Could he trust her...?
"Please Hulk, let me make it up to you."
"Hulk don't want friends," Hulk said with a growl, causing Pinkie's eyes to well up with tears. "But...Hulk will consider a friend." Pinkie smiled and jumped up to hug Hulk, who caught her in the air and put her back down on the ground. Hulk looked back at the foals as Pinkie shouted in triumph to the sky, the two looking up at him with curious eyes. Hulk picked them up gently and placed them in the palm of his hand, smiling slightly at them. Then much to Pinkie's surprise, they began to laugh.
"Wow, it takes me hours to get them to laugh, yet you did it without doing anything," she said with amazment, stretching her face and making silly noise, but the foals ignored her and continued to laugh at Hulk. "You might have a special talent for making others smile." Hulk didn't know how to answer, how could he? He'd spent his whole existence being a monster of pain and agony, but she was saying he could cause others to smile? Hulk was saved from answering when a massive lightning bolt struck the center of Ponyville.
---=-=---
"And he literally held up a massive rock in order for the water to pass over you and your class?" Twilight asked the still wet Cheerilee, who had come back into Ponyville to drop the class off. Twilight had been speaking with Applejack and Rainbow Dash about what they should do with the Hulk when Cheerilee had walked into the tree house, hoping that Twilight would know what was going on. "And it was the Hulk? You're certain of this?"
"As certain as Celestia will raise the sun," she responded with a sneeze. "Unless you know of another creature that's green, muscular and has a temper problem?"
"So it was the Hulk," Twilight said with a sigh, thinking of all sorts of questions that she would need to ask the Hulk. "So, do you know the reason why the dam burst. I know this isn't the first time it's burst, but after the last time I personally reinforced it with double the normal magical shielding."
"I'm not sure," she replied, placing her hoof under her chin. "I thought I saw the Hulk break the dam, but he looked...odd."
"Odd how?" Rainbow Dash asked her.
"He looked...darker than usual and he didn't roar or anything. He just walked up to the dam and punched it," she explained, the explanation causing Twilight to frown. "I would have actually thought it was him if the green version hadn't shown up only moments later to save us."
"Could there be two Hulks?" Twiligth asked herself, not liking the sound of it. "Alright, the three of us will go check it out. You get back home and go to bed. You've had a rough day." The four ponies left the library, with Cheerilee heading for home while the other three headed for the dam.
"What do we do if there's another Hulk?" Applejack asked with worry. "We can't even deal with one Hulk, how could we contend with two?"
"We just have to hope that it's not another Hulk and just a mistake on her part," Twilight said with a growl. "I just wish that I could have been there. Maybe then I could have-"
KKKAAAABBBBOOOOOMMMMM!!
Twilight and the girls shrieked as a massive sphere of lighting appeared in the center of town, blinding all who looked at it. A cloud of dust was what came next after the lighting finally died down, which gave way to a creature that caused the ponies to gasp. In the center of the hole the lighting had made was a creature down on one knee that they had never seen before. It was similar to Hulk in shape, but was covered in red and gold armor. It had a glowing circle where its heart should have been and was a lot sleeker than any armor they had seen. Steam was coming off the armor as it stood up and stretched.
"Ugh...Jarvis, why did the shielding for teleportation not come into effect?" it said to somepony, but none of the ponies knew of a Jarvis. "What do you mean they were damaged in the trip? I built them, so there's no way they could-"
"Um, hello there." The metal man looked down to find Twilight staring up at him, her horn glowing warily. Unknown to her, the internal system of the suit was already scanning the ponies, telling the operator that she was a magic-based creature. That didn't make it any more weird.
"Jarvis, did that horse just talk to me?" he asked the computer.
'Yes sir.'
"...Jarvis, what's my blood alcohol level?"
'The normal level, sir.'
"Well, I'm not drunk anyhow," he muttered to himself as he got down on one knee to be eye level. "Hello there. Can you understand me?" he asked her slowly.
"I understand you just fine," Twilight grumbled, hating being talked 'down to'. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I am Tony Stark, a.k.a Iron Man," he said in a booming voice, standing up and firing his repulsors into the air, causing ponies to panic. "And I'm looking for someone."
"And who are you looking...No way," she muttered as it dawned on her. "Are you looking for the-"
"METAL MAAAANNNNNNNN!!"
"Oh hell," Iron Man muttered right before the Hulk slammed to the ground behind him, seething with rage. "Hey big guy, how ya-" Hulk grabbed Iron Man by the leg and started to slam him back and forth on the ground, yelling as he did so.
"Metal man lie to Hulk, told Hulk that he wouldn't ship Hulk off to another world! But metal man lie to Hulk again! NOW HULK RIP METAL MAN IN TWO!" he roared as he repeatedly slammed him on the ground.
"I...didn't...know...that...would..." Iron Man yelled between hits, but the Hulk wasn't listening. Hulk lifted Iron Man up by the leg and grabbed his head, preparing to pull Tony out of the suit.
"HULK! DROP HIM!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she arrived on the scene, hoofing the two babies over to their parents as she did so. Hulk looked at her for a minute before growling and throwing Iron Man into the ground. Tony gave a little "ow" as he hit. Pinkie then walked over to the damaged suit and offered it her hoof. "Sorry about that, still working on getting his anger under control."
"No...problem," Iron Man moaned as he sat up, running a scan to make sure nothing was broken. He then looked around at the town where he was sitting, amazed that ponies had seemed to build it and even more amazed that Hulk hadn't ripped it apart.
"I see that you and the Hulk are already aquantied," Rainbow Dash said to him with a smile.
"Oh yeah, best of buds," Iron Man replied as he got back to his feet. "I've spent days trying to lock onto where he vanished and what thanks do I get? The guy grabs me and uses me as a fly swatter. See if I ever save his big green ass again."
"Metal man be quiet," Hulk growled as he took a step forward, but Pinkie put a hoof to his leg to stop him.
"You said that you've been tracking the Hulk," Twiight began, hoping that Iron Man would be a little more reasonable than the Hulk. "Why were you tracking him exactly?"
"You know, I'm asking myself that exact question right now," he said in a mocking tone, causing Twilight to frown. "And I don't think it would be the best idea to tell what looks like a radioactive pony where I come from and what I'm doing."
"We're not radioactive!" Applejack yelled.
"Have you taken a look at yourself?" he asked smugly. "You're all covered in gamma rays. But if you must know, and you must, we lost the Hulk about five or six days ago during a massive battle over our home planet, when the alien ship retreated with him on board. Naturally we thought that we'd find him on their home world, but it seems he fell off during his flight. After a few days of scanning the multi-verse, I found him here, surrounded by talking ponies who use magic."
"Wait, you said Hulk was fighting with you? How did you get him to agree to that?"
"We didn't, we got Banner to. Speaking of which," Iron Man began, turning towards the Hulk. "I want to speak to Banner, so change back. Hurry up, chop chop."
"Banner no here any more," Hulk replied with a grin. "Only Hulk here. And Hulk no like metal man."
"Okay that's not good," Iron Man said with a bit of fear. "That's actually bad. Very, very bad."
"Why is that so bad?" Pinkie asked.
"Because, without Banner there is no way to control the Hulk and he'll run rampant," Iron Man explained. "Except you haven't. Why haven't you been all 'Hulk smash'?"
"How do you know so much about Hulk and Banner?" Twilight asked. "Are you his friend?"
"Banner's, yes. Hulk's, nooooo. You see, Hulk doesn't have any friends because he has anger managment issues."
"I'm his friend," Pinkie said very seriously.
"Hulk said consider."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Iron Man said with a chuckle. "Alright Hulk, we've wasted enought time here and Steve's worried about you, so let's get on back to-"
"Hulk not go back. Hulk staying," Hulk said. Iron Man and the ponies all looked at him like he was nuts.
"There must be metal in my ears from when you slammed me into the ground," Iron Man said as he slapped the side of his helmet. "Did you just say you want to stay?"
"Hulk like it here. Puny ponies no try to hurt Hulk," Hulk said with a grunt. "If Hulk go back, puny humans will attack Hulk, try to hurt Hulk. Hulk have no friends there, only people that want to be smashed. Here, Hulk not attacked by ponies and Hulk may even have friend." If the ponies could have seen Iron Man's face, they would have seen an expression of incredible disbelief--not that their own faces didn't look exactly the same.
"Hulk--Big Guy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you can't stay here," Iron Man said. "This always happens, you try to find a home in a new world and then everything goes to hell. Come on, let's get you home and see if we can get Banner out of-"
"Hulk not going back," Hulk said in a dangerous tone, narrowing his eyes at Stark. "Unless metal man want to try and make Hulk."
"I would have to say no to that offer," Iron Man replied with a sigh. "Look, I know you think that you're going to be happy or at least alone here, but it will end the same way all the other worlds have. And when you realize this," Iron Man said as he tossed Hulk a massive transmitter. "Just push the button on that and the Avengers will pick you up. Jarvis, activate the transporter." The lightning bolt returned and Iron Man vanished in a flash. Hulk watched him go with a scowl, looking down at the transmitter before tossing it aside. Pinkie caught it as Hulk jumped off into the distance.
--------=-=---------
Far away from all the commotion, a pile of metal lay strewn across the ground in the middle of a forest. Most of it had been ripped apart by a certain green monster and it was beyond normal means of repair. Normal means.
"Well what do we have here?" Discord asked himself as he looked down at all the scrap metal that reflected the setting sun. "This could be of use if brought back together. And while the princess pony and all her stallions may not be able to put it back together, I can." Discord snapped his fingers and watched with a smile as the pieces began to re-form, becoming the metal robot Gyro again. "Now go my creation, sew the seeds of chaos on that town." The robot nodded and headed for Ponyville, while a snickering Discord snapped his fingers and vanished.
"This might work! This might actually work!" Twilight said with excitement as she finished reading an ancient tome about the Elements of Harmony that Celestia had loaned to her. "If this tome is correct, there might be a way to revert the Hulk back to Banner without hurting or killing him! I might get my friend back!...But the only problem will be convincing Pinkie to go along with it." Twilight shook her head as she looked out her window at the sun that was high in the sky, not letting her fears get the better of her. The plan would work and Banner would be back. So with a happy smile, she hopped out of her chair and raced out the door.
---=-=----
"Thanks for allowing me to throw the party in your barn Applejack," Pinkie said happily as she hung the last of the streamers from the rafter--before she did a back-flip off of the ladder she was on. She landed on all fours, happily hopping over to AJ, who was moving the snacks for the ponies over to the table they had set up. "With all the chaos that has gone on recently, I hope that the ponies really enjoy my party."
"No pony has ever not enjoyed one of yer parties," Applejack reminded her, while she counted the number of cups to make sure they had enough. "And yer right about with all the weird things that have happened, the ponies could use a little party to help them feel better."
"Now all of the town's ponies should be showing up in about an hour, so get ready for them," Pinkie said as she looked down at her watch, figuring it was time. "I need to go get the guest of honor." She started to hop out of the barn, but AJ put a hoof on her shoulder and looked into her eyes.
"Pinkie, ah need to know...is yer special guest...Hulk?" AJ asked in concern. All Pinkie did was smile as she hopped away from AJ and out of the barn, leaving the farm pony to sigh and gather the tools that would help her to rebuild the barn when the time came. Pinkie hopped down the street, humming a happy tune to herself as she headed in the Hulk's direction. No matter where he went, she knew where he was, simply because she could feel negativity and pain, and that was something that Hulk reeked of. Her trek took her to the farthest reaches of the Everfree Forest, where she came across a massive cliff. She looked over the edge into the canyon as the ground shook. There below was the Hulk at the bottom, smashing boulders with his fists.
"What is he up to now?" Pinkie said with a shake of her head as she jumped off the cliff, sailing all the way down and landing on all her hooves with no problem. "And just what are you doing?" Pinkie asked him while Hulk continued to crush boulders, looking down at her with a frown.
"Hulk mad about robot attacking pony, so Hulk take out frustration on rock!" Hulk yelled as he punched the rock, shattering it into pebbles. "And since Hulk can no smash ponies or ponies' homes, Hulk go smash rocks instead!" Pinkie rolled her eyes at the sight, wondering if Hulk was smashing to let out his rage or if he just found it fun. But she didn't ponder that long, as she put on a party hat and placed Hulk's invitation in her mouth. She tapped Hulk's leg once and smiled at him as he looked down at the invite. "Hulk can't pick that up."
"Oh, right," Pinkie muttered to herself as she took the invite out of her mouth, and she cleared her throat before reading it aloud. "Dear Mr. Hulk, you have been invited to the greatest, awesomest, most explosive party around--where you will be the guest of honor! There will be cake, fun, dancing, fun, games and more fun! Today at ten in Applejack's barn!" When Pinkie finished reading she looked up at the confused Hulk with a smile, waiting to see his reaction. "Well?"
"Puny pony want Hulk to go to party?" Hulk asked her, to which she nodded excitedly in response. Hulk looked down at her with a raised eyebrow before he started to laugh, sending his laugh echoing throughout the canyon. Pinkie looked confused as Hulk shook his head and started to walk away.
"What? What's so funny?" Pinkie asked him as she ran up beside the still chuckling Hulk.
"Hulk no go to party," Hulk said as his laugh turned to a growl. "Hulk hate parties. All parties do is give others chance to hurt Hulk. Or make Hulk mad."
"But how could you turn down a party?" Pinkie asked in disbelief. "Parties are so much fun! You get to hang out with friends and just have a great time! How can you say no?!"
"Hulk only have one friend. And Hulk no like to be in cramped area with smashable ponies," Hulk reminded her as he started to climb out of the canyon. Pinkie hopped onto his shoulders and sighed.
"Well, since I'm your only friend and I'll be at the party, would you consider going just for me?" Pinkie asked with her pleading eyes. Hulk chuckled again and her pleading turned into another frown. "Fine, I guess I can't make you. Well if you were a pony I could, but I can't force you. But I would really appreciate it if you did." Hulk frowned as he heard the pleading in her voice, considering it for a minute. When he got to the top of the canyon, Pinkie hopped off his shoulders and looked up at him again. "Well, you don't have to come if you don't want to, but there will be a special seat reserved just for you if you do decide to show. Bye!" And with that she hopped away, leaving Hulk alone again. He frowned as she left, wondering why'd she even bother to invite him if she already knew all of this.
"Puny Banner would know answer to crazy pony," Hulk muttered to himself. "He crazy as well." Then Hulk caught what he had just said. He realized that he had just said that Banner would know something that he didn't. Hulk snarled at himself, reminding himself that he had just gotten rid of Banner and didn't want him back. He despised Banner and considered him an annoyance, like Pinkie sometimes was. But as much as Pinkie annoyed him, he still considered her a friend because she wouldn't try to hurt or lie to him...and she had been willing to deal with him for the sake of their friendship. So shouldn't he try to do the same?
"Ugh, Hulk hate having to do right thing," he muttered to himself as he started to head back to Ponyville, bracing himself for what was sure to be quite the experience. A quick leap towards the town allowed him to arrive within seconds, having the added bonus of scaring one of the ponies as he landed and sent her running away screaming. Hulk chuckled to himself at the sight as he headed for the Apple farm, where he thought Pinkie had told him the party was. He wasn't sure, sometimes he just tuned her out when she started talking. Since he was thinking more about where he was going than actually looking, he accidently smacked his head on a low-hanging roof and knocked the roof right off. "Hulk need to pay more attention. Hulk forgot how weak pony buildings are." The more Hulk walked, the more ponies he noticed who gave him looks filled with fear or suspicion. These were the looks he was used to, but for some reason when the ponies made them, Hulk felt a little sadder.
"Hulk wasting time," he muttered as he leapt off again and landed right outside the Apple's gate, shaking almost all the apples of the trees as he landed. The sound of music and laughter as well as lights coming from the barn met his ears and eyes as he pulled himself out of the new crater he'd made. Hulk walked over to the barn door and placed his hand on the door before stopping. The first impression would be important if he hoped to win back the ponies' trust--not for him, but because Pinkie asked him to be there. So he inhaled deeply and pulled on the door to enter...only to rip it off its hinges and send it flying off into the distance. The music came to a stop as all of the ponies turned to look at Hulk, none of them knowing what to expect. Even the Elements of Harmony were quietly watching him, each of them waiting for him to do something. The only pony that seemed remotely glad to see him was Pinkie, as she bounded over to him with a massive smile on her face.
"You made it!" she yelled as she leapt up to hug him, once again getting caught by the Hulk's hand and placed back down onto the floor. "I'm sooooo glad that you could make it! After what you said I thought that you weren't going to come but I actually knew you would although I was scared there for a second but all of my doubts-"
"Hulk made it," he said to cut her off before she could build up any real speed. He walked into the barn as the ponies parted in front of him, each of them looking at him with either fear or suspicion, although he did see one or two that smiled at him. Pinkie hopped in front of him, walking him over to a chair that had been set up in the back of the barn--a chair that had been especially designed just for him. He lumbered over to it and sat down...only to have it break under his weight. Pinkie stifled a laugh while Hulk growled in rage, causing all the ponies in the room to back away from him in fear. Twilight got her magic ready in case he tried anything, but all Hulk did was stand back up and walk to one of the barn corners. He leaned himself up against it and closed his eyes, feeling all the eyes upon him.
"Okay everypony, I invited you to a party, not who can stare at the Hulk the most," Pinkie said into a microphone as she started the music back up. "Now I wanna see some ponies dancing and I want to see some fun! Come on!" Pinkie kicked up a weird beat that got the ponies moving a bit, none of them able to resist its rhythms. She looked over at Hulk hoping that it had got him too, but he stayed in the corner with his head down. She frowned and told the music to keep playing itself as she walked over to Hulk, kicking him twice in the leg to get his attention. "Why aren't you partying? It's really silly to come to a party and not...party."
"Hulk came to party, that all pony asked," Hulk reminded her with a huff, crossing his arms as he did so. Pinkie opened her mouth to respond, but his logic was sound and all she could do was frown.
"Fine, but me and the Cakes made a cake for you to thank you for helping us out through all those weird incidents and for saving their lives," Pinkie said over her shoulder as she walked away. "Speaking of cakes, the two foals are here and I bet that they'd like to say hi to you. Alright everypony, time for cake!" The ponies all stopped dancing and headed over to the giant table in the center where Pinkie brought over the cake. It was massive and covered with green frosting. It had a crudely drawn version of Hulk's face on top of it. The two foals saw the massive cake and started reaching towards it with outstretched hooves, but their parents held them back. "Hey Hulk, want to come cut the cake?" Pinkie's eyes told him that he had no choice, so with a grunt Hulk walked over to the cake as all the ponies backed away from him. But as Hulk walked over to the table, one of the floorboards cracked under his weight, causing Hulk's right leg to shoot through the floor as it snapped. His hand reached out for something to steady himself, and he caught the edge of the table, flipping the table and the cake into the air. Hulk looked up just in time to see a green projectile heading his way.
SPLAT!
All of the ponies gasped as the cake landed on the Hulk's head, covering his entire upper body in frosting. The cake's foals saw both the cake and their friend together and just had to get over there. Pumpkin teleported herself out her mother's grasp while Pound flew out of his father's embrace, and both of them landed on top of the Hulk, beginning to eat while laughing. The ponies' eyes all looked to Hulk's face, which had gritted its teeth, and his eyes were filled with a look of rage at being embarrassed. No pony dared to make a sound, save for one pony.
"ppppffffftttttttt....BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Pinkie laughed out loud as she pounded on the floor, rolling onto her back and clutching her stomach as she laughed. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to breath but found herself unable to do so, so she simply continued to point and laugh at Hulk. "Y-you should...see how you look! Hold on, I'll grab a mirror!" The ponies once again looked at her like she was crazy as she ran out of the barn, only to return a second later with a mirror in tow. She held it in front of Hulk while still doing her best not to laugh, while Hulk looked into the mirror. What he saw was a cake on top of a green monster with two fillies happily eating away at said cake. For the longest moment in the history of Equestria, none of the ponies moved or spoke. Hulk was about to snap, gritting his teeth with enough force to crack diamonds as the rage began to build.
"Hulky funny," Pumpkin said as she ate more of the cake. And those two words brought him back to reality.
"Heh," he chuckled to himself, admitting that he did look slightly funny. And all together, the ponies all let out a breath of relief and started to talk as well as mingle again. Hulk's small laugh had broken the ice and told them that he wasn't going to rampage and that he could laugh things off. The main reason that he had managed to do so this time, was the fact that Pinkie turned the whole thing into a joke instead of Hulk screwing up. Hulk pulled himself out of the hole in the floor and gently reached up to take the foals off his head, walking over to their terrified parents as he put them on the table. They both held their hooves up to him with sad looks, wanting back up. Hulk then reached up and grabbed some of the cake, placing it in front of the foals. Pinkie waved him over to join her and her friends. He walked over to them while AJ stared at the hole in her barn floor.
"Glad ah got the repair tools out early," she muttered to herself, while Hulk stopped in front of their table. Twilight looked past him at all the smiling ponies who were singing and dancing together now, all of the previous tension gone.
"So why didn't you 'Hulk out' on us and destroy the barn?" Twilight asked, shrinking back a bit as Hulk growled at her, never liking the term 'Hulking out'. "I mean, you get angry if we so much as look at you the wrong way. What stopped you here?"
"Hulk no felt like smashing barn," Hulk replied, allowing AJ to sigh in relief. "Puny pony wanted Hulk to have fun, not smash barn."
"It's alright, the party will probably bring down the house any way," Pinkie said with a smile that gained her a glare from Applejack. "But first I have something to give you," Pinkie said as she pulled out a wrapped present.
"What pony give Hulk?" Hulk asked her as he reached for it, but she moved it away from him.
"No peeking. Now close your eyes." Hulk grumbled but did as she requested, hearing the sounds of his present being opened. "Okay, you can look now." Hulk opened his eyes to see that Pinkie was holding...a stuffed version of herself. Hulk picked the stuffed pony up and looked at it with an incredulous look, while Pinkie looked up at him with a huge smile. "Do you love it?"
"Hulk...Hulk appreciate it," Hulk grumbled as he put the stuffed animal in one of his pockets. Pinkie squealed with delight at the simple fact that he didn't tear it in half and threw herself onto him for as big a hug as she could manage. Hulk didn't know what to do, so he simply waited until she let go.
"Thanks for coming," she said with a smile. "I didn't think you would come with all your trust issues."
"Hulk trust puny pony, pony never hurt Hulk," Hulk said. Pinkie smiled and looked around at the ponies, most of whom were calling it a night.
"Alright, we should probably wrap it up soon. I just wanted you to show up and I don't feel like pushing our luck. I got you to laugh, so we can call this a successful party!" Hulk stayed until almost all the ponies had left, but left himself when Pinkie and AJ started to clean up. As he walked outside into the clean night air, he found himself feeling weaker than usual. Was it because he hadn't changed into Banner in so long...or that he hadn't really been that angry since Pinkie had sorta become his friend? Either way, Hulk needed to keep watch on his rage. So he forced himself to think about the earthlings and what they did to him as he leapt across the sky, heading back to his cave. Twilight watched him go, thanking Celestia that he had taken that little incident so well. But what if he hadn't, would AJ's barn still be standing or would any of those ponies still be alive?
'That settles it. Tomorrow, we use the Elements on him,' Twilight thought to herself as she started her teleportation spell. 'Don't worry Banner, I'll get you out if there.'
"For the last time Twilight, the answer is still no," Pinkie said as she scooped up one of the Cake's foals into her arms as she tried to escape through the front door. Twilight had dropped by Sugarcube Corners in the morning after the party, with a plan in her head to try and free Banner from the wrath of the Hulk. She had talked to the other Elements of Harmony about it, and they had all seemed on board with it, but then she hit a roadblock when she tried to get Pinkie in on the plan as well.
"But this could be the only way to free Banner from the Hulk!" Twilight protested, while Pinkie looked up at the ceiling with a frown, seeing the Pound Cake was once again up there. "He's been trapped in there for at least three days now and we don't know what kind of shape he could be in, even if he's still alive."
"He's still alive," Pinkie assured her as she dragged out a trampoline and started to bounce up and down on it in an effort to jump up to where the foal was. "Hulk would never kill him, Hulk doesn't do things like that anymore."
"But how do you know that?" Twilight asked, as Pinkie jumped up to grab Pound Cake, who shot out of the way right before she could grab him, which resulted in Pinkie missing the trampoline and landing on her face. "Banner might be in pain or the Hulk might be keeping him in a painful memory! He could be in danger!"
"Hulk smashes things and yells," Pinkie said calmly as she ran into the closet to grab a ladder, placing it under Pound and started to climb it. "Hulk doesn't do things like trap somepony in an endless circle of pain or within their worst memories. He smashes things." Pound Cake hissed as Pinkie got close and tried to jump away, but Pinkie leapt after him and grabbed him in the air, both of them crashing to the ground. "HA! Got you." Pound Cake began to giggle as Pinkie picked him up and brought him over to the playpen in which she had placed his sister, Pinkie sighing in relief as the two began to play again.
"Look Pinkie, I have done days of research and I am ninety-eight...ninety-nine percent certain that this plan will work," Twilight pleaded with her. Pinkie sighed as she walked back behind the counter of the shop. Twilight placed both hooves on the counter and looked into Pinkie's eyes with desperation in hers. "Look, I know that you don't want to do this, but from what we saw with the Elements of Harmony in the past, Hulk should be fine. When we used them on Nightmare Moon, it turned her back into Luna because it dispersed all of the evil in her. From what you've told me about the Hulk, he isn't evil, just angry. So at the very most, as long as Hulk remains calm and doesn't get angry, the Elements of Harmony should only change him back into Banner, not destroy the Hulk." Pinkie looked at Twilight with uncertainty in her eyes.
"I don't know..."
"The process is also one hundred percent painless," Twilight said as she showed Pinkie the book she had been carrying. "The spell we are using was used back in the days of the great war--to calm foes that were angry to the point where they would listen to reason. All we're going to do is calm him down. Nothing more."
"Twi...why do you hate the Hulk so much?" Pinkie asked her. "Yeah, he's a little rude, but he's really a nice pony once you get to know him. It takes a little work, but once he trusts you, he'll tear apart Tartarus to protect you. Remember what happened with that robot the other day?" How could Twilight forget, she had what remained of it in her basement. "So all I'm saying is maybe you should give him a chance. Please?"
"Pinkie...I don't hate the Hulk, but I'm worried about Banner. What if the reason he hasn't taken control is because he's gone for good? You remember what Luna told us, about how he tried to kill himself multiple times. What if this is finally the act that gets rid of him for good?...What if my friend is gone?" Pinkie looked at Twilight as she wiped her eyes on her arm, her sympathy for her friend overcoming her worries.
"Alright Twi, I'll tell you what. I'll go talk to Hulky and if he doesn't know anything about Banner, I'll ask him to come down with us. But if he says no, there is nothing else I can do. Are you going to come with me?"
"No. Since you're the only one who can talk to him without fear of getting crushed by him, you have to be the one to tell him what's going on," Twilight explained when she finished wiping the tears out of her eyes. "Tell him everything, because I fear if we leave anything out he'll probably get angry at us, if he isn't already. Tell him that we are using the Elements to try to see if Banner is still alive inside of him, that we are not trying to hurt him. Can you do that for me?" Pinkie looked at her for a moment before letting out a sigh of resignation as she stood up.
"Alright, I'll do it, but you have to watch the foals while I'm gone," Pinkie said happily as she started to hop out of the shop. "Oh, and watch out for Pumpkin's magic; she's starting to use fireballs."
"That all you need me to do?"
"Yup. Oh, your tail's on fire," Pinkie sang as she hopped out of the shop, smiling when she heard Twilight scream. She bounced away from Ponyville at her fastest hopping speed, heading for the mountain where Hulk normally slept. But as she started to hop up the mountain, she started to have her doubts about Twilight's plan. True, the Elements only banished the evil in Luna and turned her back to normal, but that was because there was another pony inside of her. When they used the Elements on Discord, he had been completely turned to stone, since he was an Element of chaos. In fact, the Elements seemed to destroy anything that wasn't positive emotion, like what it did to Nightmare Moon. And Hulk was a hero made of rage, so what would the Elements do to him? Her train of thought was derailed when she heard a loud roar, followed by the sound of something being shattered apart. Pinkie immediately feared for whatever had angered Hulk and raced up the mountain at speeds that would make RD hate her. She ran into the mouth of the cave to find Hulk tossing around a number of cockatrices, with a few more laying flattened on the ground from where he stepped on them.
"Ugly chicken snakes try to hurt Hulk, but Hulk too strong!" he roared as he threw one over Pinkie's head and out of the cave, stepping on another one of them. One of them managed to slither up Hulk's arm and stared into his eyes, forcing Hulk to stare into them as well. Pinkie cried out as Hulks' body started to turn to stone...until his eyes started getting greener and the stone on his body shattered when he moved. The cockatrice didn't even have time to realize what had happened before Hulk grabbed it by it's head and crushed it in his grasp. Only after he had finished off all the cockatrices did he finally notice Pinkie standing at the cave entrance.
"So, are you making new friends or is that how you treat all your guests?" Pinkie asked the Hulk as she walked inside, stepping past the bodies without looking at them.
"What puny pony want?" Hulk asked her as he picked up the corpses and threw them out of the cave, walking back over to a rock and sitting himself back down. Pinkie jumped over to him and hopped onto his head, smiling when she noticed that he still had the stuffed animal she gave him in his pocket.
"I wanted to ask you about Banner. Is he still...alive in there?"
"Hulk...don't know. Hulk haven't heard from Bannner." Pinkie frowned as Twilight's fears were verified. Banner had said that the two of them could talk while the other was out, but for him to be silent wasn't good.
"Will you let him out?"
"No."
"Then I wanted to ask you, if you wanted to come on down to Ponyville and help out Twilight with an experiment of hers," Pinkie said. "All we're going to do is use the Elements to see if Banner's still alive, that's all."
"Hulk no trust stupid pony, stupid pony try to hurt Hulk," Hulk growled to himself. "Just like white pony. But not puny pony. She Hulk's friend."
"That's right. And Twilight's my friend. So you can trust Twilight by trusting me!" She looked into Hulk's eyes as he thought about it, and she could see the distrust building in them. She wouldn't blame him if he didn't come down, and she would simply tell Twilight that he said no, despite her best efforts. But the distrust in his eyes gave way to something she had never seen in his eyes before: trust.
"Alright, Hulk trust pony. Hulk also curious about Banner. He never stay quiet." Hulk had no idea how hard Pinkie had to contain her excitement when she heard him say that. To hear that Hulk trusted her was the greatest thing she had ever heard, even better than when she found out about the Cake twins. Hulk got to his feet and lumbered out of the cave, Pinkie hopping alongside him with sheer joy as they descended down the mountain, not even noticing the rain clouds that loomed overhead. Twilight had told her earlier where the group was supposed to meet if they got this plan to work, so that's where she lead the green beast.
"I don't believe it," Twilight said to herself as Pinkie and the Hulk showed up at the meeting place outside of town, joining the other Elements who were equally shocked at the sight. "You managed to convince him to come? How did you manage to do that?"
"Silly filly, Hulk trusts me, so I had no problem," Pinkie said with a smile. "But the cockatrices that fought with him weren't so lucky. We really need to put up a notice about bothering Hulk." Pinkie didn't see Fluttershy glare at Hulk as she said this, but Hulk ignored her. Twilight told all the ponies to gather around as she placed the Element of Magic on her head, the rest of them following suit as they placed their own Elements on as well. Pinkie was the only one who didn't do so, she had to talk to Hulk first.
"Hulk, before we do this I just want to explain what's been going on one more time," Pinkie explained to Hulk. "Twilight thinks that the Elements of Harmony might be able to tell us about Dr. Banner, who she is really worried about. So we are trying to...get him out." She saw the rage flash in his eyes and knew that she only had seconds to divert his wrath. "But it won't be permanent! We only want to see if he's alright. After that, you can change right back into the big green friend of mine." She saw that Hulk was once again thinking about it, the doubt flashing in his eyes again.
"Will it hurt Hulk?" he asked her.
"No, I promise that it won't hurt you," she responded with a smile. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Hulk knew what the Pinkie promise meant to Pinkie and that it meant her word was bond, so he shrugged and stood in the grassy field, waiting for the ponies to start. Pinkie walked back over to the ponies and up to Twilight, giving her a look. "This won't hurt him, right?"
"No, it shouldn't," Twilight confirmed. "What did you find out about Banner?"
"Hulk hasn't heard from him and that's not a good sign. I may not agree with this, but I do know that we have to find out about him." Pinkie looked back at Hulk one more time before she joined her fellow Elements in the circle they formed whenever they prepared for the Element Storm. Hulk watched with narrow eyes as a white light connected all of the ponies together and started to float them into the air, where their power seemed to grow as the ground began to shake. Then the six ponies opened their eyes to reveal white pupils and fired a rainbow beam up into the sky, which came crashing down towards Hulk, who brace himself for the magic. It struck him with the ultimate power known to the ponies and started to wrap around him.
"See Pinkie, he's perfectly fine," Twilight said to her friend as the magic seemed to do nothing to the Hulk. Hulk looked at the elements that surrounded him, feeling a warmth course through him that soothed him a bit. He closed his eyes and allowed the peaceful magic to start to wrap itself around him. The Elements began to calm his great wrath and slowly but surely, he was changing back into Banner.
"Hulk feel...happy," Hulk muttered. However, a certain god of chaos just so happened to be watching from the shadows and he smiled at what he saw.
"Oh this is too good. The little ponies think that their little Elements can help Hulk," he said with a snicker. "Let's change that. Messing with the Elements is the best way to create chaos. I can't wait to see how this turns out." Discord snapped his fingers and sat back to watch from a distance. Just as Hulk began to get comfortable with the magic, the pain started. What was happening was that Discord had messed with the Elements a bit, making them now think that they were firing at Discord instead of Hulk. Hulk opened his eyes to see some weird creature floating in front of him that gave him a wink, then the pain started. While the Elements had sensed the goodness inside of Hulk all along, the sudden change in personality from Hulk to Discord had sent them into their secondary function: to trap him in stone. Hulk's body was starting to glow as bits of his skin started to come off, and for a brief moment both Banner and Hulk could be seen side by side as the stone began to form around him. Hulk roared in rage and pain as he put a hand up to stop the Elements, but their power was too strong.
"Shut it off!" Pinkie screamed at Twilight, who closed her eyes.
"I...I can't! The Elements have taken hold of his sudden rage and are trying to destroy it!" Twilight screamed as the magic continued to pound the Hulk, not knowing that Discord had used his magic to prevent the Elements from being turned off. Then they heard the roar, the roar that reminded them of the first time they had watched the Hulk destroy. In response to being hurt, Hulk had gone from angry and unsure to feeling full on 'pissed' and betrayed. His body began to glow green as his rage began to overpower the magic that was hurting him. And the angrier Hulk gets...
"HULK SMASH MAGIC!" Hulk raised a glowing green fist and slammed it into the Elements, the power of his punch knocking the Elements back. He then started to swing, each hit knocking the Elements further and further back.
"He...He's overpowering the Elements! This shouldn't be possible! Nopony is that-!"
"HULK IS STRONGEST!" Hulk roared as he punched the Elements one last time, breaking the magic beam and sending the six ponies flying in opposite directions. Twilight groaned as she hit the ground and sat up rubbing her head with pain in her eyes, eyes that slowly began to shrink when she realized that a shadow was looming over her. She slowly rose her head to look up at the Hulk, who was towering over her with a look of wrath upon his face.
"Stupid pony try to hurt Hulk," Hulk seethed, his fist clenched so tightly that he could have shattered adimantium. "Pony try to lock Hulk away, just like the humans and other beings. But Hulk too strong for magic, for you. Now," Hulk began as he lifted both hands over Twilight. "Hulk smash."
"NO!" Pinkie yelled as she placed herself between Hulk and Twilight, stopping Hulk from smashing Twilight. "Hulk, this was an accident, she didn't mean any of this!" Hulk looked down at her with the same seething eyes with which he had been glaring at Twilight, but then the wrath slowly started to fade as Hulk lowered his arms.
"Pony lie to Hulk," Hulk said softly. "Puny pony say that Hulk no get hurt, that Hulk be safe. But Hulk hurt."
"What...no, Hulk I didn't mean-" Pinkie began, but Hulk turned around and started to walk away, pain showing in his eyes as he walked away.
"Hulk thought that Hulk's friend could be trusted, that she was different. But Hulk should know better, no matter where Hulk go all try to hurt Hulk. Hulk go be alone now," Hulk said quietly as he leapt into the air, leaving the area.
"HULK WAIT!" Pinkie screamed as she raced after him, ignoring her other friends that had just gotten back to their hooves. She managed to catch up with Hulk on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, where he had made a massive crater from landing. "Hulk stop!" she yelled again, this time Hulk did stop but he didn't turn around. "Hulk, what happened was an accident, Twilight didn't mean for the magic to hurt you. All it was supposed to do was tell us whether Banner was alive or not, it wasn't meant to hurt you."
"But it did hurt Hulk," Hulk said in a cold whisper, his words sending chills up Pinkie's spin. "Pony lie to Hulk, said that Hulk wouldn't be hurt. Promised that Hulk wouldn't be hurt. But Hulk was hurt."
"Hulk, I didn't mean for that-"
"PUNY PONY TRY TO HURT HULK!" Hulk screamed as he turned around to face her, allowing her to face the full brunt of his wrath. "Hulk thought that pony would be different, hoped that pony would keep word. Hulk trusted pony! Hulk didn't want to be experimented on, but puny pony tell Hulk that it be alright. But it not alright! Hulk almost trapped again and Hulk was hurt again! Hulk trusted pony!"
"Hulk please, I'm-" Pinkie tried to apologize, but another roar from Hulk drowned out what she was trying to say.
"NO! Hulk no want to hear more of your lies! Hulk don't want to see pony anymore!" Hulk screamed at her. "Hulk thought you friend but you try to hurt Hulk! Hulk tired of being hurt by so called friends! Hulk tired of the pain. Puny pony better leave Hulk alone for good or Hulk smash pony! And if Hulk can't smash pony, then Hulk smash all of pony's friends, then Hulk smash town! Hulk will keep smashing until pony finally LEAVES HULK ALONE!" Pinkie opened her mouth to try to apologize, but Hulk slammed his hands together and created a massive shockwave that blew Pinkie off her hooves and kicked up a massive dust cloud. She groaned and got back to her hooves, running into the dust cloud to find that Hulk was gone. She looked around for where he might have gone before she tore off through the forest, never noticing the rain that started to fall onto her face as the clouds began to let loose. She ran for miles until she found something that stopped her as if she had been shot. It was the stuffed animal that she had given him, laying in a crater that Hulk had made when he impacted. She slowly walked over to it and picked it up, the tears that started to fall from her eyes beginning to mix with the rain that fell down her face.
"HULK! I'M SORRY!" she screamed into the storm as the rain came down in force, drowning out her cries. "I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU! PLEASE COME BACK" Pinkie continued to scream until she could no longer hear her own words under the force of the rain. She curled up into a ball on the ground, clutching the stuffed pony close to her chest. "I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry..." Pinkie whispered to herself as she clutched the pony close to her, slowly beginning to weep silently to herself, never noticing the crack that appeared in the Element around her neck.
Far away, Hulk landed in the center of a desert, picking himself out of the crater that he had made as he slowly began to walk forward.
"Hulk no need ponies, Hulk no need anyone." Hulk continued to walk further into the desert where the heat beat down on him. And since his skin was so thick, he never felt the single tear that fell down his face. "All Hulk needs...is to be alone. It's all Hulk needs."
Author's Note
Think Nightmare Moon.
"I hate to admit it, but you did it," Chrysalis said to a smug Discord, as Nightmare Moon paced up and down at the castle where they were staying, thinking about the next step in her plan.
"I know it worked; all my plans work," Discord said as he watched television in the air. "Now with the Hulk out of the way, our conquest should be-"
"Yes, Discord, I knew there was a good reason I sent you to spy on them," Nightmare Moon said with a smile. "But the Hulk will not stay gone forever, for I am certain he will return when the ponies need him. We must figure out a way to get rid of him for good." Chrysalis began to laugh, causing the other two to look at her funny.
"Unlike Discord, who spends his day relying on instinct, I actually created such a plan and have already carried it out," she said with a wicked grin. "WHEN it works out, the Hulk will be gone."
"Oh? And what have you done that could get rid of the Hulk?" Discord asked with a sarcastic smile.
"Simple. Instead of trying to break the Hulk, I'm going for his weaker side," she said with a grin, causing Discord's smile to fall...literally.
"Wait, you're going after Banner?" Discord's mouth asked from where it lay, disembodied on the ground. The Master of Chaos picked it up and put it on his face. "And ponies call me crazy. He's gone, remember?"
"Maybe, but if the Hulk is so desperate to protect them, there is nothing he wouldn't do."
"I was not aware the beast had a compassionate side," Nightmare Moon said with a frown. "How in Equestria could you possibly get the Hulk to let Banner out and how will it drive him away?" Chrysalis began to laugh again as a changeling flew in and informed her that all the samples had been distributed.
"Because, as I said, despite the little argument they just had, Hulk has seemed to become more attached to these ponies," Chrysalis said with a grin. "And he'll do anything to keep them safe. Anything."
---=-=---
"Pinkie, please let me in," Twilight said as she knocked again at the home of the usually cheerful pony with a bit of worry. Pinkie had returned to Ponyville late last night soaking wet and looking like all the fun had been drained from her life after the Hulk had stormed off. She answered none of the questions that her friends had asked her, and she had gone straight to her house, not emerging since. While most of the other Elements figured that she needed time, Twilight had been the only one who saw that she was carrying the stuffed pony she had given Hulk. She looked broken. "Pinkie, I know you're in there. Please let me in." The door to Pinkie's house opened up and Pinkie stood behind it, her eyes being the only thing Twilight could see in the darkness.
"Come on in," she said in an emotionless tone, opening the door a little wider so that Twilight could enter. Twilight walked inside and noticed that all the lights were off; the party supplies were scattered across the room. Pinkie lay down on one of her couches and rolled over so that she wasn't facing Twilight. "What do want?" Twilight winced at the icy tone in her voice, but spoke anyway.
"Pinkie, I know that you're hurting from what happened the other day and...I'm sorry," Twilight said quietly, unable to face her friend. "It was my fault that the Hulk got mad at us and I'm the reason that he left in a rage. I didn't mean to hurt him or drive him away, I just...I just wanted my friend back. Dr. Banner was the only other pony out there that I felt that I could talk to about science. I finally felt like I had another pony that could share in my love of knowledge." Pinkie didn't say anything for a minute; she simply continued to stare at the back of her couch. But when she did roll over to look at Twilight, her eyes held no emotion.
"He trusted me," Pinkie said in a cold fury that caused Twilight to back away from her. "Hulk trusted me. I was the only pony in Equestria that he let get close to him, trusting me to never hurt him...I promised that I never would. But I failed him, I hurt him. I was the only pony he trusted and was willing to be a friend to...and I broke his trust. How can I call myself a friend after what I did?! How can I be an Element of Harmony if I hurt one who's suffered so much?!" she half-screamed, more mad at herself than Twilight. "I was his only friend, I was the one he trusted! HE TRUSTED ME! He trusted me..." Twilight didn't know what to say to her as she pulled herself back onto her hooves, since she had never seen Pinkie look so...hurt. She was about to go to her when the door was thrown open by RD.
"Twilight! thank heavens I found you, we got a problem!" she half-screamed as she ran into the house.
"Rainbow, what's going on?" Twilight asked her.
"Ponies are dropping left and right, all of them seeming to have the same ailment," RD explained. "The hospital's already filled up, so we moved all the other cases to your house. You need to hurry!" Twilight nodded as RD raced out the door and prepared to follow her, but then Twilight stopped and looked back at her friend.
"Do you want to come?"
"No, just leave me alone." Twilight didn't answer as Pinkie's head sank back down. Instead, she turned to leave and raced after RD to her library, not prepared for the sight that would greet her. A huge multitude of ponies were laying in makeshift beds on her floor, each of them crying out in pain. Nurses and doctors ran back and forth trying to help the sick, but having little effect. Celestia and Luna were there as well, their magic having little to no effect on the sick.
"What happened?" Twilight asked RD.
"I don't know, but none of our spells are able to cure them and the potions aren't working," she explained. "Nopony knows what to do." Twilight looked at the suffering ponies with worried eyes, noticing that some of the ponies had ceased to move while others had been covered up by a white fabric. She went to work for a few minutes trying to help the doctors before an idea came to her.
"Banner will know," she whispered. Before RD could ask what she meant, Twilight used one of her spells to lock onto the spell she placed on Hulk to tell her where he was and teleported away. She opened her eyes as the light died down and she looked around to find that she was standing on top of a massive mountain overlooking a ravine down below her. She looked up to see the Hulk, sitting on the edge that sat over the ravine, his arms on his knees as he stared into the void.
"Hulk!" Twilight yelled as she ran over to him. Hulk didn't turn his head as she approached, but he did grunt at her to let her know he heard him. "Hulk, we need your help. Something terrible has happened in Ponyville and-"
"Why you here?" Hulk asked her. "Why stupid pony bothering Hulk? Is pony trying to hurt Hulk again? Or is pony trying to trap Hulk in stone? Because Hulk will smash you if pony try."
"That's not important right now," Twilight said as she floated herself in front of Hulk so that he had to look at her. "Ponies are dying in Ponyville and we have no idea why and none of our magic or potions are working. Banner is the only creature on this planet smart enough to figure out what is going on. We need Banner!"
"Banner no here. Banner-"
"Isn't gone," Twilight said to cut him off, not believing that she did that. "You're not the type to kill needlessly, so I know that Banner is still in there. We need him, so please, let him out!" Hulk just glared at her, remembering how she had been the one who always mistrusted him and tried to hurt him. Twilight looked into his eyes, seeing that he wasn't going to help her, that he was still hurting from the previous day. So she had to do something that she didn't believe would work. She tried to appeal to his softer side. "Hulk, I know you're mad at me and I know you want nothing to do with us at the moment, but ponies are dying. And if Pinkie was right about you, she said that you care for others even when you're enraged or hurt. So I am asking you...no, begging you, please let Banner out. We need him!" Hulk looked down at her with rage in his eyes, but she could see that the rage was beginning to subside. Hulk let out a sigh and stood up, closing his eyes as he did so.
"Pony want Banner, Pony get Banner. Hulk no longer care." Twilight watched in amazement as Hulk slowly began to shrink down until he had completely reverted to a confused Banner, who looked at Twilight while shielding his eyes from the sun.
"Twilight?" he asked in a weak voice. "What's going on? Where-?"
"I'll explain everything later, but right now I need to get you to Ponyville," she said quickly as she grabbed him and started up her teleportation spell again, re-appearing in the library a few seconds later. Banner stood up and looked around the library, his eyes widening when he saw all the sick ponies laying on the floor--and all the dead.
"What happened here?" he asked her, immediately in 'go mode'.
"I'm not sure. One minute they were fine and the next-" Twilight didn't even finish before Banner had grabbed a syringe from one of the doctors and drew a blood sample, running into the basement to examine the blood. Celestia and Twilight ran after him as he started to look through the microscope.
"No..." he whispered to himself, his eyes growing huge just as his face turned white.
"What is it Doctor?" Celestia asked. Banner rubbed his temples with a sad expresssion.
"These ponies...all have severe gamma poisoning," he replied softly. The two ponies looked at each other as Banner leaned up against the side of the tree.
"So what do we do? What's the cure?" Twilight asked in desperation. Banner looked at her with hollow eyes, feeling his failures in the past coming back to haunt him.
"There is no cure," he replied coldly.
"No...NO! There has to be a cure! A spell! Something!" she screamed as she rushed back upstairs, leaving Banner alone with Celestia.
"How did this happen?" he asked her after a moment of quiet.
"I...do not know. There have never been any cases of radiation poisoning in the past until-"
"Until the Hulk and I showed up," he finished for her, already knowing what the cause of the poisoning was. Celestia walked over to him and tried to wrap a wing around him, which he slapped off.
"Dr. Banner, do not think that this is your fault," she said gently. "You had no idea that something like this would happen. You were inside the Hulk most of the time. You were not in control."
"But I should have been!" he yelled at her, his eyes turning green. "I should have thought of the possibilty that your bodies would not be able to handle radiation! That just being around all of you could poison you just as much as it could a human!"
"There was also the giant snake that attacked," she reminded him, hoping to calm him down. "It too contained large levels of radiation that was spread all over Ponyville when-"
"When the Hulk ripped it apart," he finished with a growl, personally hitting himself for being such a fool. "And whose blood was it that poisoned the snake to begin with? MINE! I'm the cause of all this pain and chaos. GGGRRRAAAAAHHH! DAMN YOU HULK! DAMN YOU FOR NOT LETTING ME DIE AND FORCING ALL TO SUFFER!" Celestia backed up a bit, not used to seeing this side of Banner. He looked so helpless, so full of rage. Just like the Hulk, who hated his own existence. She started to see that maybe the Hulk and Banner weren't too different after all.
"So are you just going to sit there and cry?" she asked with a growl. Banner turned to face her and she pushed her face right up to his. "You are a scientist and I am the most powerful spellcaster in all of Equestria. Together we can fix this. And don't you dare give up," she said, cutting off what he was going to say next. "Please Banner, help them. I beg you." Banner looked from her to the chemistry set on the table, an idea beginning to form in his head.
"The reason that they are dying is because the amount of gamma they have been infused with is the same amount I was infused with," he told her, gathering up a number of chemicals and potions, beginning to flip through a spell book as he talked. "While that normally kills anyone but me, if we could find a way to reduce the amount of gamma in their cells, the natural ability your ponies have to heal might be able to fight off the rest of the gamma."
"Where do we start?" she asked as Banner began to whip up multiple potions, each of which was a bright red.
"These are the farthest that humanity has gotten in the field of radiation cures," he told her. "If you can supercharge them, they might be able to fight back the gamma poisoning. None of the ponies have the Hulk in them to transform into. It's a longshot, but-"
"We have no choice," Celestia said with her regal voice, unleashing all of her power upon the potions. They changed from a bright red to a rainbow color that radiated with power. Banner quickly scooped them up as Celestia collapsed to the floor exhausted. Banner ran past her and shot up the stairs, bringing Twilight up to speed while tossing her a number of potions. He ran to the closest pony that was still moving and forced half the liquid down it's throat. It coughed horribly and then let out a sigh, its breathing returning to a regular rhythm. He sighed in relief before sprinting to the next one, repeating the process. Within a few minutes, all of the surviving ponies had been saved, allowing Banner to collapse to the floor with a sigh.
"YOU DID IT!" Twilight yelled as she tackled Banner with a huge smile. Banner put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her away of him, disgusted that she would even consider thanking him after what he had done.
"Don't thank me," he whispered, using all of his self control to keep his head. "I don't deserve it." He stood up and started to walk out of the library, stopping at a small colt that hadn't made it. His eyes teared up when he realized that it was the colt he had saved from poisoning when he had first arrived. Banner closed his eyes and rushed out of the building, past all the ponies that had gathered around outside. He didn't stop running until he was in a field all to himself. He then fell to his knees as tears streamed down his face, feeling his failure begin to overtake him.
"They trusted you, Banner! And you failed them!" he yelled at himself in a voice that was only half his, his body shaking in rage as the image of the dead colt was burned into his mind. That colt had a future; had a life ahead of him. And now he was gone due to Banner. He let loose a cry to the sky, that if you listened closely, you wouldn't be able to tell if it was him screaming or the Hulk.
The next day was a busy day for all of Ponyville. All ponies were required to come to the library and be examined, whether they felt sick or not. Twilight would be the one hoofing out the potions that Celestia and Luna had spent day and night supercharging, so that they could kill the gamma rays. But despite all the good it was doing, they were all worried about Dr. Banner, who had only returned to show Twilight how to make the potions before vanishing off on his own. Rarity had come by later that day to tell them that he had shown up to request a new pair of clothes and a back pack, and that she hadn't seen him after that. RD had scanned the land, but she hadn't seen him either.
"Do you suppose he's gone?" RD asked Twilight as she gave away the potion to the last pony in town.
"He blames himself for this," Twilight responded, her eyes heavy from the lack of sleep. She had stayed up all night to make sure there were enough potions for all the ponies in town, even making some extra just in case it wasn't enough.
"But it wasn't his fault...was it?" she asked her friend.
"I just don't know, Rainbow," Twilight said wearily as she started picking up. "It's just as likely that the Hulk gave off the gamma rays that infected the ponies, and that Banner had no part of it. But he still blames himself for this, for everything that has happened as of late."
"He need not," Luna said as she came up from the basement, followed by a very tired Celestia. "He has done more good than harm since he arrived. He has already saved so many lives, not just by himself but also as the Hulk. But due to his past, he feels like he has failed even when he hasn't."
"So that is why you must find him," Celestia said with a yawn. "He may be trying to end his life after this. I do not know if the Hulk will allow him to or not, but I do not wish to take that risk."
"Right. I'll get the Wonderbolts and fly around to look for him," Rainbow said. "Twilight, go get Pinkie. If anypony can find him, it's her. She'll know what to say." Twilight nodded as RD flew out of the room, following after her by running out the door. Ponyville was in a somber mood after the events of yesterday, but Twilight's mind was more focused on what had happened. She hadn't been thinking right yesterday, but something had been bothering her. Banner said that the poisoning had come from him and the Hulk, but Banner barely gave off any radiation, and the Hulk had practically avoided the town when he was in control. They hadn't been around enough for that much gamma to spread so quickly. Twilight snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed that she had reached Sugarcube Corners.
"Pinkie! Get out here, I need to talk to you!" she yelled. But when Pinkie came down, her mane was still straight and her eyes were dull and lifeless.
"Hey Twilight, what's up?" Pinkie said with a sigh.
"Banner's gone and Celestia's afraid that he might try and kill himself," Twilight said with fear in her voice. "And he may blame himself, but it wasn't on purpose. Please, you have to find him!" Pinkie's hair poofed back up again when she realized her friend was in danger, and she shot off like a rocket, quickly heading for the forest. She knew that if Banner didn't want to be found, he wouldn't bother sticking to the main roads and would instead try to escape through the trees. She zipped through the forest, searching behind every tree, under every rock and in every crevasse. But he was still nowhere to be found.
"Don't worry Hulk, I will find you!" she said as she rushed deeper into the forest, not noticing when Banner stepped out from behind a tree, shaking his head at her antics. He had predicted that she would try to track him through the forest, and he decided that he would leave out little bread crumbs for her that would lead her to a dead end, while he took the main road. Banner hefted his backpack onto his shoulders and headed for the forest exit, quickly finding the main road and taking it. Before he got far, he heard hoofsteps behind him and a very familiar voice called out his name. Banner sighed and turned to find Twilight running up to him.
"Dr. Banner!" Twilight called out with relief in her voice. "Thank goodness we found you! I was beginning to think that you had done yourself in." Banner didn't respond; he only turned and started to walk again. Twilight ran in front of him and smiled again. "It worked Dr. Banner! The potions have gotten rid of all the gamma in Ponville!"
"Not all of it," he whispered before walking past her.
"W-wait up!" she yelled and walked alongside him. "Dr. Banner, you can come back. The crisis is over. Nopony blames you for what happened. You don't have to-"
"Go? Yes, I do," he said in a very cold voice, causing Twilight to back up a bit. "If I stay, I put all the ponies at even more of a risk. If the Hulk doesn't kill them, it's fairly obvious that my body will. I need to go, before any more die pointlessly."
"But-"
"No buts," he growled as he began to walk again. Twilight teared up a bit and held out one hoof to him, but he didn't see it. He did stop a bit further down and did look back. "Look...thank you for giving me a home and trying to help me. I appreciate it. But I can never have a home. I can never be happy. My destiny is to wander the world until the day I die. So please, just leave me alone." He turned and walked away, leaving Twilight crying where she stood. She wanted to chase after him, chase after the man who had shown her a whole new side of science and had saved so many. But she knew that he wouldn't allow it and that he would send her away. So all Twilight could do was watch as Banner walked away into the distance, like he had done so many times.
---=-=---
Twilight returned to the town with most of her tears already cried out. She had just gotten Dr. Banner back and now he was gone again. It was what he wanted and she had to respect his wishes, especially after everything he had done. But that didn't take the sting out of the thought of him leaving. Her friends were there waiting for her when she came back, her face telling them the news.
"Come on, Sugarcube. Let's get ya something to take yer mind off Banner," AJ said with a look of compassion, putting a hoof on her shoulder. Twilight barely nodded as the others tried to comfort her.
"Yeah, I know a great recipe that's sure to pick you up," Pinkie said with a false grin, hiding the fact that she was hurting worse than all of them. She had finally gotten through to the Hulk, finally got him to accept her as a friend, and now he was gone. Hulk had been hated all his life but had finally found a friend in her...and she failed him. But as badly as she hurt, her friends were suffering as well and they needed her to make them happy. She smiled to hide her pain as the group began to head for the Sugarcube Corners. The other ponies were also feeling the loss of Banner, despite the fact they did not know him as well. Before they could get to the sweet shop, Celestia and Luna flew down in front of them with sad faces.
"I see that you were not able to convince him to stay," Luna said with a sad sigh. "It is a pity, he has such a brilliant mind and a noble heart."
"And a good pony," Celestia said with a small shake of her head. "But we will have to be sad later. I wish for us to go to Canterlot to make sure the gamma infection has not reached it as well. I wish for all of us to go and we'll bring the Elements of Harmony. Gather whatever you wish to bring and be here within the hour." Celesta and Luna sat down at a restaurant so that Celestia could recover, while the ponies each headed to their own home. Twilight walked into the library to find that all of the ponies had cleared out and left her alone, Spike still was off on his adventure. Twilight walked over to her bookshelf and gathered a few books, placing them in her saddle bag. She then took the Element of Magic and stared at it, its power representing the gift of friendship. She couldn't help but think that if she had done something different, he might have stayed. She moved another book and a small note fell out. she picked it up and smiled slightly when she read it.
'Twilight,
Here's some advice when mixing chemicals and studing radiation. Keep safety goggles on at all times and keep those protected eyes on the chemicals at all times. And always have someone else check your work, or you might end up with a rage monster in your body.
Stay safe,
She smiled to herself as she remembered when he had written that, right after she had blown up her beaker. His quick thinking is what had allowed them to get out of that mess in one piece and stopped the tree house from burning down. He had taught her so much in such a short time, that she didn't want him to go, but knew he had to. She gathered up the rest of what she was bringing and headed out towards the meeting place. She had arrived early and started talking with the princesses while waiting for the others. Pinkie was the second to arrive, although she seemed much sadder than usual.
"What's the matter Pinkie? You look upset?" Twilight asked.
"Nothing. I...just miss the Hulk," Pinkie said with a sigh. Twilight sighed too and wrapped a hoof around her friend's shoulder, trying to comfort her as best she could. "I shouldn't have forced him to come down when he didn't want to. I drove him away."
"I know you feel guilty, but we have to try to remain positive. Banner wouldn't want us feeling sad. He'd want us to get over him," Twilight said, trying to cheer her up.
"And Hulk would say that puny pony shouldn't cry, puny pony should be strong," Pinkie said with a small smile. The two of them looked up as the rest of their friends arrived, Celestia and Luna joining them to complete the group before they all headed off to Canterlot.
---=-=---
"I don't believe it," Discord said with a sigh as Chrysalis gloated over him. "Your plan actually worked. You managed to get rid of the Hulk by playing to Banner's soft side and his guilt for the ponies. Well done, my good woman."
"I can still hear the sarcasm in your voice, but I will accept your praise nonetheless," Chrysalis said with a massive smile, taking bows as if she had just pulled off an amazing performance. "And of course I have to give some credit to the pink one that betrayed the Hulk. She was most helpful. With the Hulk out of the way, Canterlot will be easy to take. But just in case, I have already sent changelings in disguise so we can blackmail the princesses if needed."
"And we may need to," Nightmare Moon said as she finished her spell to check up on the ponies. "They are already heading towards Canterlot and are bringing the Elements of Harmony with them. One wrong move and you end up in stone and I end up back as I started."
"So how should we go about this?" Discord asked as he brought up a small version of Canterlot. "Put all the ponies to sleep? Make them fight their worst nightmares? Trap them in a giant tub of butter?"
"No, no and ew," Chrysalis said, walking over to the map. "If we can catch them off guard in their royal hall, we should be able to beat them before they know what hit them. We will take them separately, with me taking four and you the other four," Chrysalis said as she pointed to Discord. "Nightmare Moon will be the shock factor. Her appearance should be able to stun them long enough for you to grab the Elements, even with their protective shielding."
"And then they will be thrown into chaos," Discord said as he licked his lips. "Oh, this is going to be fun!"
"Yes, it will be," Nightmare Moon said with a smile as she walked over to the small map. "For today will be the last the ponies of Equestria will see of the day. For as of this moment, the night will rise again!" The three of them vanished in a swirl of darkness, knowing that this would be the day all would remember as the day the Elements of Harmony fell.
The ponies arrived in Canterlot a few minutes later, heading towards the castle infirmary to see if any of the ponies there had the gamma sickness. Most of the ponies were quiet in their beds as the princesses and Elements passed by, and they (most of them) were still upset about the loss of Banner. The group then headed to the castle in generally somber spirits. The guards saluted as the group reached the castle, then opened the gates and let them in. Celestia and Luna led the group through the halls, finally reaching the throne room. They opened the door...to reveal Discord and Chrysalis sitting on the throne.
"What in Equestria is this?" Celestia shouted as Discord snapped his fingers to shut the door behind her.
"Girls, the Elements!" Luna yelled at them. Before they could move, two guards came out from behind the pillars and tackled Fluttershy and Rarity to the ground, taking the Elements off of them and tossing them to Chrysalis.
"Why, thank you my dears," she hissed as the two guards transformed into changelings and flew over to her. "I just don't know what I would do without them."
"Give us back the Elements, Chrysalis," Twilight threatened. Chrysalis laughed at her while Discord changed himself back to 'normal'.
"I think not. You see, these are rather annoying when a pony is trying to take over the world," she explained, tossing one of the Elements to Discord. "But without them, you're mostly useless. And without Shining Armor and Cadence here with their power of love, none of you could possibly defeat us."
"We've beaten each of you before, we can do it again," Twilight growled. Discord and Chrysalis both looked at each other with a smile and stood up, advancing towards the group.
"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Discord asked with a grin, cracking his knuckles. "Because to challenge me without the Elements would just be...insane!" Luna roared and launched herself at him, Discord knocking away each of her spells with relative ease.
"Come on, let's go help her!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she, Pinkie and Rarity chased after them. That left Celestia, Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy to deal with Chrysalis.
"You're a foal if you think that you can beat us all on your own," Celestia told her, to which Chyrsalis just motioned for Celestia to 'bring it'. Celestia fired a beam of magic from her horn that struck Chrysalis in the chest, but the Queen of the Changlings went up in green flames to reveal an ordinary changeling instead of her. Celestia was immediately struck down from behind, but when the ponies turned to see who had hit her, they saw seven Chrysalis's smiling at them.
"So, ponies, do you think you can handle fighting me...?"
"Myself...?"
"And I?" the multiple Chrysalis's asked. Twilight opened fire on the multiple queens who cackled and split apart, each of them heading for the group. Fluttershy hauled flank as three of the Chyrsalis's started to chase her, while Twilight and Applejack tried to fight two of them, with mixed success. Twilight's advanced knowledge of magic allowed her to counter any of the spells thrown at her, whereas Applejack was tough enough to shake off most of the spells that hit her. The battle with Discord wasn't going much better.
"Watch out, my friends! I am not in control of my actions!" Luna yelled as she began to fire at the three Elements, while a snickering Discord sat above her pulling some strings. RD flew around the two of them and slashed through the strings with her wings, freeing Luna. She spun and fired at Discord, who whipped out a mirrior to reflect her attack back at her.
"Princess Luna!" Pinkie yelled as Luna's own spell threw her across the room and slammed her into a wall, where she slid down and landed at its base, unconscious. The three prepared to attack Discord, but he held up a hand to stop them.
"Hold on a second," he muttered, looking into his mirror as he fixed his hair. "There we go. How do I look?"
"You look great," his reflection said with a thumbs up. "Watch out, they're attacking." Discord snapped his fingers and the mirror turned into a umbrella that he used to deflect Rarity's swarm of gems. He then pulled a sapphire stone the size of his head out of his pocket and threw it past Rarity.
"IT'S MINE!" she yelled as she shoved Pinkie and Rainbow out of the way.
"You ponies are so simple," he said with a chuckle. RD growled and flew at him, trying to hit him multiple times. Discord continued to dodge each hit until a cake hit him in the face.
"I hope you like almonds, because this is going to drive you NUTS!" Pinkie yelled with a maniacal laugh as her party cannon started firing balls of peanut butter at Discord. He whipped out a party cannon of his own and started to fire blobs of jelly at her in return. Neither Pinkie nor Discord got hit, but one unfortunate Rarity got covered in peanut butter and jelly, turning her mane into a chocolate mess.
"NOOO! Not my mane!" she screamed as she tried to get the glob off of her. Pinkie had engaged Discord in a battle of epic proportions as they attacked eack other with giant hammers. Discord knocked the hammer out of Pinkie's hooves, but a blast of magic in his back brought him down to a knee, giving Pinkie enough time to take his hammer and hit him on the head with it.
"Yeah, high score!" she yelled as numbers started to appear over Discord. "Thanks Luna."
"Not a problem, my friend," Luna said with a smile, getting back to her hooves. Twilight and Applejack had teamed up to battle the other Chrysalis's and had managed to defeat five of the imposters, leaving only two left.
"Now then, which one of you is the real one, and which should we not bother with?" Twilight asked them.
"Do you honestly think that we would tell you that?" they both asked. "You are bigger foals than we-" Both Chrysalis's screamed as two bolts of magic hit them in the back, knocking them both over. One turned back into a changeling, whereas the other one stayed Chrysalis.
"It is easier to blast them both instead of asking," Celestia told Twilight, who nodded and wrote it down in her note book. Fluttershy came out from behind the throne and looked over at the two.
"D-did we win?" she asked.
"I think we did," Twilight said with a smile as Luna and Celestia floated over the two villains and landed next to each other.
"Alright my ponies, let us use the Elements of Harmony to...wait, where are the Elements?" Luna asked. The ponies looked between Chrysalis and Discord, but neither of them had the Elements on them. "Where did they go?"
"I suppose that I am the one that took them."
"No..." Luna whispered as she heard the familiar voice. All the ponies turned with a gasp to see a pony that they thought would be gone forever...Nightmare Moon.
"It has certainly been awhile. Celestia has gotten fatter, I see," she said with a smirk, causing Celestia's face to turn red. Nightmare Moon levitated the two Elements up to eye level and spun them around, smiling as she looked at them. "Now then, I believe that these are what you wanted so badly?"
"Give them back," Luna said in a cold voice. Nightmare Moon smiled...and immediately roared in pain as Celestia blasted her in the face with a blast of sunlight magic, driving her back. Twilight caught the two Elements with her magic and tossed them back to Rarity and Fluttershy, the six of them forming the circle that was needed to fire the Elements.
"This ends now," Twilight said as she closed her eyes and waited for the power of the Elements to flood through them...except it never did. Twilight looked up at her Element in confusion, the other ponies doing the same. "Why aren't the Elements working? They have never failed us before, only when we-" Then Twilight realized what happened. The elements only worked if all of the ponies were staying true to their Element and there was a pony there that hadn't been acting like her Element. She looked over at Pinkie, who was looking down at the crack on her Element with wide eyes.
"Oh how delicious," Nightmare Moon laughed as she fired a spell at the group, trapping them all in a sphere of darkness. Celestia and Luna tried to combine their powers to break free, but a green fire encompassed the sphere as well, followed by golden chains that wrapped around it all. Celestia turned to see Chrysalis and Discord getting back to their hooves. "The Elements have failed you because one of you had their heart ripped out. Don't worry dear, I know how that feels. But it would not have mattered anyway. Because I," she began as she showed the ponies her glowing green eyes. "Am now the strongest there is."
"How did you get the power of the Hulk?!" Pinkie roared, slamming her shoulder against the sphere. "What did you do to him?!"
"I didn't do anything," Nightmare Moon said with a grin. "You did Pinkie. You broke the monster's trust and drove him away."
"I might have been a bit responsible for his leaving, though," Chrysalis said with a smile. "It is possible that I unleashed my changelings upon your home with the gamma poison that claimed so many ponies."
"And I my have been the one to screw with the Elements to make them think they were firing at me," Discord said with an innocent face
"It was you two?" Twilight whispered. "You two were the ones who drove Banner to leave because of his guilt? You're the reason he left?!" she screamed, slamming her hooves up against the sheild.
"You drove Hulky away!?" Pinkie screamed, slamming herself into the shield with no effect. Chrysalis chuckled at Twilight's and Pinkie's pain.
"We should put them in the dungeon," Nightmare Moon said. "Keep the barrier up of course. Tomorrow we tell the ponies that there has been a change in leadership."
"And what if they resist?" Chrysalis asked.
"We must remind them of our power," Nightmare Moon replied with an evil smile, looking through to Celestia. "Tell me Celestia, how long has it been since we had a public execution?" Celestia's eyes widened as she realized what Nightmare was saying. Chrysalis chuckled as she levitated the sphere out of the room. Discord watched them go, not sure how he felt about this. Capturing them to take over Equestria, sure...but killing them?
"Do not worry ponies," Chrysalis said with venom, as she brought them down into the castle dungeon. "You will be safe down here. No one will be able to reach you. You'll be perfectly safe."
"You cannot win, Chrysalis," Luna said, evenly. "You must know that Nightmare Moon will turn on you the moment this is over. She wants the night to cover the planet. Would endless night benifit the changelings in any way?"
"Actually yes. See, without the sun, ponies will have an even harder time identifiyng us when we infiltrate their homes. Eternal darkness works great for us," she replied with a smile, opening the largest cell and placing the ponies ensnared within the shield inside. "Now you be good and get some rest; you all have a big day ahead of you."
"What's the plan, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, once Chyrsalis had left.
"I don't know," she muttered, spinning her magic around her horn to try and drill her way out of the barrier. "But if we can't get out of here by tomorrow...odds are we aren't going to make it." The ponies all sat down and tried to figure out a plan for getting out, leaving Pinkie alone to stare out the window into the now-night sky.
"Hulk, where are you? We need help," she whispered.
---=-=---
Banner woke up the next morning with a crick in his neck, but he ignored it, stood up and jumped out of the tree where he had taken refuge for the night. He took an apple out of his backpack and quickly downed it, getting back on the trail he had been walking and continuing on his way. A small village greeted him as he reached the top of a hill a few hours later. He walked in and received a few glances, but most ponies knew who he was by now. A small cafe captured his attention, and he sat down outside at one of the tables. A waiter walked over and gave him a menu.
"Just tea please," Banner said as he returned it to the waiter, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.
'So this is how you repay those that gave you shelter and helped you.' Banner eyes shot open and he looked across the table at a silver mare, one that he hadn't seen in quite a while.
"So you're back, huh?" he muttered before closing his eyes again. "I have nothing to say to you."
'Then allow me to speak while you listen. Do you think that you got here, to Equestria, on accident?'
"So you're the one who brought me here?" he muttered. "Makes sense; that metal shouldn't have come off like that to begin with. So you decided to doom hundreds to die by bringing me here. I don't know if you're a god or what, but you're terrible at your job."
'I brought you here so that you could help to improve this world, much like the champion of lightning did or the armored father,' she said calmly, but Banner could feel an underlying rage in her voice. He knew rage when he heard it. 'And up until you gave up on yourself, you were actually succeeding.'
"Gave up? I left to protect the ponies!" he spat, his rage boiling back up. He sat up and glared at the silver mare, not caring that the others couldn't hear her. "I left to save them from me and the Hulk. Do you honestly think I like having to always leave a place that I come to call 'home'? No, but I do it to protect the inhabitants. They're safer without me," he said with a small sigh.
'You have the potential to be so much more,' she said with a bit of heat. 'You have a special talent inside of you. You have the ability to make others smile. But because of your hatred towards yourself, you have not been able to achieve it.'
"All I do is cause pain," Banner said with a smirk. "I can't make others smile. So unlike your other little champions, you picked a dud with this one. Now leave me alone." Banner slumped back in his chair. The silver mare looked at him with what seemed to be sad eyes before shaking her head and standing up.
'You were supposed to be an inspiration, to show the ponies how not to give up no matter how terrible things get. I see now that I truly did pick the wrong hero.'
"I'm not a hero. I'm a monster," he growled. "Leave me alone."
'...Very well, but I will leave you with this. If you return to the ponies today, there will be hard times ahead of you, but the reward is great. But if you leave them now, you will never see them again. You will finally be alone because they will all die.' Banner took a sip of his tea, noticing that she had vanished when he hadn't been looking. What had she meant that if he left them now, they would die? He had given them the cure for the gamma poisoning and knew that the princesses were strong, so they should be fine. But he could go back if they needed him, couldn't he? Of course he could.
'No, puny Banner won't.'
"And I just got rid of the other one," he growled, turning to see the Hulk standing behind him. "Don't tell me that you of all people are going to tell me to go back? You're the one who always wanted to be alone. Well guess what, because I'm a poison to the ponies, you get your wish. We get to be alone."
'Hulk always wanted to be alone to be happy...but Hulk was wrong. Hulk know that happiness come from friends now.' Banner turned to face the Hulk, completely stunned. Did Hulk, the monster that smashed any one or any thing that got close to him, just admit that he needed someone else?
"So you're saying that we should go back?" he said with a laugh, figuring that this was a bad laugh. "Doesn't anything get through that thick head of yours? We don't get to have friends! We smash or hurt anyone who's foolish enough to get close to us! And even if we do decide to make friends, they will simply betray us in the end--or have you already forgotten about what happened with Pinkie?"
'Hulk...choose to forgive Pinkie,' Hulk said, his words nearly knocking Banner out of his chair.
"What?" Banner asked him. "You? The beast of rage and hatred, are going to forgive her?"
'Pinkie tried to be friend to Hulk, even though Hulk hurt her and her home,' Hulk said. 'She tried to be kind to Hulk even after Hulk destroyed her home and attacked her friends; she forgave Hulk...And she was truly sorry, Hulk know sorry when he hear it. If Pinkie can forgive Hulk for what Hulk has done, then Hulk can try to forgive her. It what...friends do.'
"Well you finally managed to get rid of that rage of yours, but our blood nearly killed them all," Banner reminded him. "I'm not going back. I refuse to put their lives at risk again."
'That's because puny Banner afraid,' Hulk said with a growl. 'Hulk used to be the same as Banner. Hulk used to think that all wanted to hurt Hulk, so Hulk have to smash! But pink pony show Hulk, that Hulk no need to always smash; that Hulk isn't a monster! Hulk is what Hulk chooses!'
"Well whoop de do for you then!" Banner yelled, scaring some of the early birds. "You found something that makes you happy! Good for you! But don't you remember what happens every other time we find a planet where you think that you'll finally be happy? They all end up destroyed and everyone on the planet dies. It's happened before and it will happen here."
'No. Hulk swear to protect ponies. Hulk no let ponies get destroyed,' Hulk said with conviction. 'And Banner want to protect ponies as well, Banner just too cowardly to go back when things go wrong.'
"Because I'm trying to protect them!" he yelled. "If I go back, things will get worse. They always do." Hulk glared at him, the other half that he didn't want to be in him, and that he considered weak. All his life Hulk had been considered the monster, while Banner was the man. But Hulk knew that wasn't always true.
'You know difference between Hulk and Banner?' Hulk asked him.
"You're a brainless wrecking ball while I'm a cursed scientist?" Banner replied smugly. Hulk moved in closer until he was glaring right into Banner's eyes.
'When things go bad, Banner runs, Banner hides. But no matter how many times people hunt Hulk, no matter how many times Hulk destroy cities or smash puny humans...whenever they need Hulk, Hulk go and help. Because strong do what is right. And Hulk is strongest there is.' Banner didn't know how to respond. He had always considered himself the smart one, the good-hearted one, but Hulk had just left him speechless. Hulk was being the human of the two, willing to put himself in danger to go back, even though they might hate him. How was it possible that Hulk was the more virtuous of the two?
"But I can't go back," Banner whispered. "I'm not strong."
'Banner not as strong as Hulk, but Banner no need to be,' Hulk replied with a laugh. 'Banner constantly getting hurt, getting attacked. Always trying to save world. But in past, no matter how many times Banner fail, Banner still find way to stop Hulk or monster.'
"That was always because of my guilt guiding me...I'm not that good a person," Banner whispered. "I can't be strong all the time. I'm...the monster." Hulk looked down at Banner, who looked completely defeated, and sighed, getting down on his knee so he could look Banner in the eye.
'Then let Hulk be monster. Banner can be strong one this time.' Banner thought about what Hulk was saying, not sure what he should do. Every time this situation came up, Banner always failed in the end. He could never contain the Hulk or stop the monster completely. And at the end of it all, Banner always found himself in the same place he started...alone.
'Banner no need to be alone,' Hulk said, reading his mind. 'Ponies become Hulk's friend, showed Hulk he not a monster. They will be Banner's friend.' Banner smiled a bit, not believing how surreal it was that Hulk was giving him advice. 'And Banner will always have Hulk, for better or worse.'
"Hey, Hulk...?" Banner began.
'What?'
"Want to go smash some villains?" Hulk gave Banner a grin that normally gave him nightmares, but Banner knew that he wouldn't be the one with the nightmares. Whoever was hurting the ponies would...And they would never know what hit them.
Twilight's eyes opened as the sun rose over the horizon, and seeing how Celestia was still asleep, that implied that one of the ponies that had imprisoned them had raise the sun themselves. Luna was sitting beside Twilight, still watching over the night despite what today would bring for them. Luna noticed Twilight stirring and gave her a small smile, hoping to comfort her a bit.
"I'd say good morning, but that would be a lie," she said with a sigh, looking over at the others with sad eyes. "I was hoping that Nightmare Moon would have been gone for good, but it seems that my sins have come back to haunt me. I am truely sorrow Twilight, this is my fault."
"You had no idea this would happen. You can't blame yourself," Twilight said in return to comfort her, but her words felt hollow. They had heard in the night that a number of guards had tried to break them out of prison, but that they had been...dealt with. Discord had brought them food in the middle of the night, the only act of kindness that they had seen. The ponies' spirits had fallen as the night went on, figuring that 'this was it'. They had lost the Elements, lost Canterlot...lost Banner. Yet only Pinkie Pie had managed to remain strong, her only explanation being that friends never abandoned each other.
"Even if we do not make it out alive, I just wanted to thank you," Luna said with a small smile.
"For what?"
"For freeing me from my hatred and jealousy. I may not have been back long, or I may not be alive for much longer, but I enjoyed the time I spent with you." Twilight smiled at her just as the door to the dungeon opened and Nightmare Moon came in, a smile on her face.
"Rise and shine everypony, you have a big, if short, day ahead of you," she said with a sneer, waking the ponies up as she walked over to the cell door. "I also took the liberty of passing along a message that all ponies in Canterlot should come to the castle. I promised them a show, so please do try to resist a bit," she said with a chuckle as she opened the cell door and used her magic to chain the ponies up. Nightmare Moon led them all up the stairs where the other two members of her alliance were waiting. Discord looked at the ponies with a shake of his head while Chrysalis sneered at them with glee, finally getting her revenge. Nightmare Moon made the princesses march in the front, so that all of Canterlot could watch the princesses fall.
"Ready for the big 'reveal'?" Nightmare Moon asked as she threw open the main gates, using her magic to muzzle all of them as well. Despite heading towards her doom, Celestia held her head high as they stepped out into the streets. The ponies followed her example the best they could, but their fears were beginning to get to them. Fluttershy was silently crying while AJ was thinking about what her family would do without her. The ponies were eventually led to the courtyard, where hundreds of ponies had come to see what their leaders had to say. They all initially cheered when they saw the princesses, cheers that turned to screams when they saw Chrysalis, Discord and Nightmare Moon standing side by side with the princesses and the Elements in chains. Nightmare Moon walked past the chained heroes and to the front of the crowd, smiling at their terror.
"Hello, ponies," she said with a smirk, using the royal voice to project her will over the ponies. "I am here to tell you some great news. We are going to have some change in leadership for the first time in nearly a thousand years. Celestia and Luna have decided that they have grown too old to rule over the land and have decided to...retire." The crowd began to whisper and Moon could hear the fear running through their voices. She relished in their fear, letting it fuel her very soul.
"But have no fear. We are here to tell you that we will be taking the task of ruling Equestria," she said with venom, indicating herself and her cronies. "I'm sure you've all heard of them, but I will allow my colleagues to introduce themselves." Nightmare Moon backed up so Chrysalis could take the stage. She looked over the ponies, feeling their terror.
"I am Queen Chrysalis," she said with a smile, to which most ponies began to mutter to themselves in response. "Those of you who do not know who I am will be the first to die." The crowd gasped at this and the murmering got even louder. Chrysalis chuckled to herself and cleared her throat, silencing the crowd. "Sorry, I got a little ahead of myslef there. I wish to inform you that after we are done with our demonstration, that the ponies of Equestria will be entering a truce with the changelings. If you let us feed off of your love, we won't slaughter you all...for the most part." It was now Discord's turn, but instead of standing in front of all the ponies, he snapped his fingers and they suddenly were forced into seats that had appeared out of nowhere. He then floated above them and whipped out a script, looking over it as he fixed his glasses.
"Let's see...ah ha, here we are. I, your name here, am here to inform you that I am taking over your home and/or species to...do I really have to read this?" he asked Nightmare Moon, who growled at him in response. "Fine, fine. I will cause the skies to go red and there is no place that you will be safe from my wrath. The only way you can escape this fate is to give in completely and utterly. There, I'm done. Now let's continue." Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes, but the message had gotten across. The ponies in the crowd couldn't even blink, each of them were too afraid of what would happen if they did. Nightmare Moon retook the stage and cleared her throat.
"And I know what some of you are thinking," she said with a gleeful smile. "That your precious Elements of Harmony have some sort of plan to beat us, that they will win. Well, everypony, that's where we get to our demonstration. You see, for one day only, you will all get to see...the death of Harmony." The crowd gasped as Nightmare Moon turned and fired a bolt of black magic into Celestia's chest, forcing her to her knees as tears started to fall. Luna's eyes ignited and she tried to get to Nightmare, but Chrysalis blasted her as well. Nightmare strutted over to Celestia, bending over and removing her muzzle.
"Well then, Princess Celestia, do you have anything you want to say to your loyal subjects before we send you off to see mom and dad?" she asked with a mocking smile. Celestia gritted her teeth from the pain in her chest while she was forced to her hooves and shoved in front of the crowd. She looked over her beloved subjects with tears in her eyes, seeing how they all looked to her, praying that she had a plan of sorts.
"To all my little ponies," she began, her voice choking up as her emotions got the better of her. Chyrsalis blasted her in the back to motivate her. "I wish to tell you before I...to remain strong and believe in the Elements. Just because they defeated us this time does not mean that evil will win! It will not-!" She cried out in pain as Nightmare shot her in the back of the knee, making her collapse to the ground. Nightmare walked over and put a hoof on Celestia's head, smiling down at her.
"Oh you have no idea how long I've waited to do this," she said with malice, her horn glowing a deep purple as she began to flood her magic through it. The Elements of Harmony strained against their chains, but none of them were able to break free. "But before you go, I want to hurt you in the way you hurt me. Look out at all your so-called loyal subjects...and watch as I bend them to my will."
"Attention ponies! Before Celestia is to die, I think that we should send her off like a ruler. Everypony, on your knees." The ponies looked around at each other, none of them sure what to do. "Oh, for the love of...I said, ON YOUR KNEES!" she screamed as lightning cracked the skies. All the ponies screamed in terror and hurriedly sank to one knee. Celestia closed her eyes as Nightmare began to gloat.
"So this is how it ends for you, eh Tia?" she said with a sneer, moving her mouth closer to Celestia's ear. "Alone with all of your subjects now under my control. How does it feel? How does it feel to be the forsaken one, to watch as they all reject you and accept what they wish. Well, do not worry. You will not need to live with that feeling for..." Nightmare Moon stopped as she realized that in the far back of the crowd, one of the ponies was not kneeling. She stood up and walked to the front of the balcony, squinting her eyes.
"You in the back! Did you not hear me? I said, on your KNEES!" Much to her and the others' surprise, the cloaked figure in the back began to move forward, the ponies in front of him parting as he did so.
"It's always the same, no matter where I go," he said in a deep voice, slowly walking up to the three new rulers. "Somepony who thinks that they're so much stronger than everypony else decides to go and declare themselves ruler. But what do you know of true power? Those who are truly powerful use their power to protect the weak, not control them. Those who use power to control are the really weak ones. They are the monsters."
"A very interesting idea, but as you can see...we are the powerful ones here," Nightmare Moon responded. "Now take off your cloak or I will crush her skull."
"I have watched from a distance as those with false power choose to oppress the weak, always afraid of getting myself involved. But I made a promise to protect these ponies...a promise that a certain pink pony would chase me to the ends of the earth if I were to break." Celestia's eyes widened just as the pony went from all fours to standing on two legs, reaching what were thought to be hooves to its hooded head and pulling the hood back to reveal the face of one very angry Dr. Banner. Nightmare Moon and the other two villains stepped back in shock as the ponies in chains began to silently celebrate.
"But I know a thing or two about power. And I sure as hell know what it's like to be a monster," he said with a growl as he got closer to the three. They couldn't do anything, they were still far too stunned to even think of a response. "But despite being a monster myself, there are still those out there who wish to oppress others, like my friends over there in those chains. And the thought of my friends being chained up just makes me...so...very-"
'smash.'
"...very..."
'Smash!'
"...angry..!" he finished in a cold whisper. The ponies in the courtyard screamed as Banner transformed from human form to the Hulk in barely any time at all. His cloak and the clothes underneath were shredded as his massive frame burst through them. Nightmare and her allies could only watch helplessly as the Hulk looked up at them with rage glowing green in his eyes.
"Puny ponies and ugly thing think they can hurt Hulk's friends?" he asked quietly, letting the icy rage course through him, giving him his great strength. Hulk rose up to his full height while he reared his head back and yelled loud enough for all of Equestria to hear his words. "HULK SMASH ALL WHO HURT HULK'S FRIENDS!" He then hurled himself through the balcony, shattering it into dust as the ponies began to fall. Hulk's first reaction was to try and grab those who had hurt his friends, but Discord snapped his fingers and they vanished, leaving only the others to get. Hulk grabbed them all in his massive arms as he landed at the base of the castle, quickly breaking the chains without effort.
"HULKY!" Pinkie cried out as she tackled the green giant with a massive bear hug that barely went around his neck. "I knew you would come to save us! IknewitIknewitI-"
"Thank you for coming when you did, Hulk," Celestia said with gratitude as Hulk set Pinkie down. "And if you can hear me, thank you too, Dr. Banner. I had all but given up. I was afriad that this would be remembered as the day that the Elements of Harmony fell."
"Hulk help Hulk's friends," he said with a green smile as he looked down at Pinkie, who beamed up at him with tears streaming down her face. Neither one of them noticed that the crack on Pinkie's Element had begun to glow and vanished in a burst of light. "Ponies help Hulk, even when Hulk no want help. So Hulk help ponies when they need Hulk's help."
"And the heavens know that we need your help," Twilight said with a frown, using her magic to bring up images of each of their foes. "Chrysalis is the Queen of the Changelings and has the ability to turn into anything, taking on the shape's strengths and weaknesses. Plus, her changelings can turn into her, so you never know if you're fighting the real one."
"Hulk smash bug lady," Hulk said as he cracked his knuckles.
"And this is Discord, the God of Chaos," Twilight said with a frown. "He's completely unpredictable and you can never guess what he's thinking...if he's even thinking at all. He can manipulate space and time, meaning he can do whatever he wants...maybe the most dangerous threat out there."
"Hulk smash god before. Ugly Discord lose like puny Loki," Hulk said with a grin.
"Um, right. The last one is-"
"Me," Luna said in a whisper. "It is my fault that Nightmare Moon exists in the first place. While it should not have happened, she has returned, and her powers are far beyond what they used to be. Her magic far surpasses mine and Celestia's combined. And now she has your blood running through her veins, making her-"
"Don't say it," Hulk growled, cutting her off. "No one stronger than Hulk."
"So here's the plan I thought of," Twilight continued. "Each of us will tackle them one at a time. With Hulk on our side, there's no way we can-"
"Ponies not be fighting. Only Hulk will fight. Ponies need to get other ponies to safe place," Hulk said.
"Are you crazy?! There's no way that you can...can..." Twilight's words died off as she looked above the Hulk. Hulk turned to see what looked like a sea of black bugs flying around the sky, with Chrysalis standing in the center of them. Hulk didn't even begin to try and count all of them, he simply knew that there were a lot. And all of them could hurt his friends.
"Come now, you foals. Are you ready to face the might of Chrysalis?" she asked them with her toothy smile while she stood on top of one of the turrets. Hulk turned towards the ponies and pointed to where all the others were panicking.
"Ponies go. Hulk stay and fight," Hulk told them. They wanted to argue, but it was Pinkie who stepped up for the Hulk.
"Come on everypony, let's get these ponies out of here," she told them with a smile. "We would only get in Hulk's way." The ponies weren't sure, but Pinkie ran past them and started yelling out to the ponies where they could go. The rest of the Elements all looked back at Hulk before running to help her, Luna being the only one to stop and stand beside him.
"Thank you Hulk, for showing me that not all monsters are bad."
Hulk scoffed at what she said and looked at her with a grin. "Hulk not monster and Hulk not hero. Hulk is who Hulk chooses to be." Luna blinked twice in surprise before a smile crossed her face.
"I'm just glad that today Hulk chose to keep us safe," she said before running off to join the others. Hulk turned and looked up at the swarm of changelings that were circling him in the sky. He sneered at them and planted his feet into the ground, glaring up at them.
"Puny bugs think they can fight Hulk? HULK SMASH ALL BUGS!" he roared as he jumped fist-first towards the swarm that came descending upon him. And as the dark creatures surrounded the Hulk, all of the ponies knew he was still fighting, for they could still hear his roar.
With a massive right hook, Hulk blasted a large number of changelings into a green goo that splattered over the buildings and ponies near him. But for every changeling he seemed to smash, at least ten more would take its place. Hulk screamed in rage as the seemingly infinite swarm of bugs all rammed into his chest at once and drove him through the air and into the ground, creating a crater that shook the earth. Hulk pushed himself back to his feet despite the number of bugs that were swarming him. He lashed out with a wild left that splattered a large number, but the changelings had started going for his eyes, forcing him to close his eyes as he fought.
"GAH! Puny bugs annoy Hulk! Hulk smash all-" Hulk's sentence was cut off by a changeling flying into his mouth, firing its magic inside his head in hopes of killing him. Hulk spat the bug out and crushed it with his foot, now having to keep his mouth shut to make sure it didn't happen again.
'Behind you Hulk!'
Hulk spun and drove both fists forward, smashing the changelings that had tried to get him from behind. Hulk growled at the others and they momentarily retreated.
"Banner choosing to help Hulk?" Hulk growled to himself.
'Like you said, we both want to keep them safe. So how about we work together?' Banner asked the Hulk. 'Brains and brawn, the ultimate combination.'
"Just don't hold Hulk back!" Hulk roared as he leapt into the air to grab onto a number of changelings, and he threw them into the ground before catching himself on the side of a turret and re-launching himself at Chrysalis. Chrysalis scowled at him and vanished in a spiral of green fire. Hulk roared as he passed through the flames and was tackled by a large number of changelings on the other side. They drove him into a wall and pinned him there with the sheer number of bodies they were throwing at him.
'Hulk, thunderclap!' Banner's voice rang out. Hulk nodded and slammed his hands together, generating a shockwave so powerful that the changelings closest to him were ripped apart by the force, while the others were blown back. The building behind him collapsed as well, dropping Hulk to the ground. Hulk stood up and started to look around for Chrysalis.
"GRAH!" Hulk roared as a bolt of magic struck him in the back. He spun with a snarl to see that hundreds of Chrysali were looking at him with evil grins.
"So Hulk, can you figure which one of us is-?" Hulk slammed his fist into the talking Chrysalis' face and sent her flying away. She landed and turned back into a regular changeling with a broken face. "Sorry, you guessed wrong," the others said with a smile. "So which one is real?"
"IT NO MATTER! HULK SMASH YOU ALL!" Hulk roared as he threw himself into the hundreds of Chrysali. He landed on top of one and shattered her exoskeleton before swinging his arm into another and pulverizing her, just as he grabbed a third one to throw into a group. None of them turned out to be the real Chyrsalis, but Hulk noticed that even more changelings began to morph into even more Chrysali. "TO MANY BUG PEOPLE! HULK SMASH ALL BUG PEOPLE!"
'Hulk, there's a pony that needs your help!' Hulk turned towards the direction that Banner was indicating and found a pony surrounded by a large number of changelings. Hulk looked back toward the Chrysalis clones with his desire to crush them, but saving the pony won out. So he charged the changelings and smashed them within seconds, crouching over the pony.
"Pony alright?" he asked. It looked up at him and smiled--a very toothy smile. "You no po-" Hulk roared as the "pony" self-destructed, blinding him from the magical explosion. All of the Chrysali took this moment to attack him from behind and swarmed him with magic and bodies. Hulk grabbed ahold of the ground and shook like a dog, tossing all of the Chrysali off of him. One of them had blasted a turret with her magic and sent it crashing down towards the Hulk.
'Hulk, look out!' Hulk turned and lifted up his arms, catching the turret as it came down on him. The Chrysali all began to laugh at him until the Hulk lifted the turret over his head and tossed it towards the clones, splattering a massive number of them as the turret rolled over most of them and off the side of the city. He roared with what he thought was victory...until a massive dark fist slammed into Hulk's fist and sent him flying across the city, landing face first near where the ponies were being evacuated by Luna onto an airship.
"Hulk, what's wrong?" Luna asked as she ran over to him. He pulled his head out of the ground and turned to look up at the sky, where a small black dot was getting closer.
"Run, moon pony," Hulk growled. "Hulk handle this." Luna watched as a black Hulk-like creature landed in front of them, creating a massive crater that knocked most of the ponies off their hooves. Luna watched with horror as a black Hulk pulled itself out of the crater. It looked like Hulk, but had deep green eyes with no pupils and holes in its body.
"What do you think, Hulk?" the dark Hulk asked in Chrysalis' voice. "One of my abilities is to copy the strength and skill of any opponent. That means I'm just as strong as you."
"Puny bug lady not as strong as Hulk! Hulk is strongest," Hulk roared as he charged into her and drove his fist into her jaw. Her head snapped back and was sent flying backwards into the side of a building. Before she could recover, he sprinted towards her and started throwing 'lefts and rights' into her gut. Chrysalis hissed loudly and Hulk was immediately swarmed by more changelings. Hulk backed up to try and swat all the bugs, giving Chrysalis a chance to run forward and slammed both fists into his nose. Hulk skidded back across the ground and slammed his head against a building, dazing him slightly. He cleared his head just in time to watch as a black fist came right towards his head.
'MOVE!' Despite Hulk not moving himself, his body still rolled out of the way of the attack. Although the building was devastated, Hulk looked down at his body in confusion.
"What Banner do?" Hulk asked as he blocked a punch by Chrysalis and kicked her off of him. "How Banner control Hulk?"
'You seem to forget that it's my body as well,' Banner's voice said. 'Let's be honest Hulk, you're horribly outnumbered. But if you're willing to work with me, I can help even those odds.' Hulk wasn't sure if he should trust Banner, but as he looked out at all of the changelings and the dark Hulk standing across from him, he realized that maybe a pair of eyes in the back of his head might not hurt.
"Hulk agree," Hulk said.
'Good, now behind you!' Hulk spun with an uppercut and blasted a pair of changelings into goo, which splattered all over the other changelings. Chrysalis roared and charged at the Hulk. 'Alright, judging from the way she's attacking, he's going for an overhead blow. Block!' Hulk swung both his arms up to intercept the incoming attack, which was what Banner had said it was. 'Now, kick out her knee!' Hulk smiled as he slammed his foot into her knee and buckled it, dropping Chrysalis as she cried out in pain. Hulk smiled and drove his knee into her jaw, snapping her head back and dropping her. Hulk then scooped his hands under her and lifted Chrysalis over his head, roaring as he did so.
"Puny bug lady not as strong as Hulk! Hulk strongest there is!" Hulk roared as he brought his arms back to throw her.
"Hulk, wait!" Hulk frowned and brought his hands down, finding Pinkie in his grasp, crying.
"Pink pony?" he asked in confusion as he looked at her. Before Banner could warn him, Pinkie smiled and drove a Hulk fist into his jaw and knocked him back. Hulk snarled as "Pinkie" swiftly turned back into the dark Hulk and drove its shoulder into him, smashing her feet into the ground and driving the both of them through multiple walls. Hulk roared and slammed his feet into the ground as well, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting with his might. He lifted her over his head and powerbombed her into the city streets, sending her right through the street and to the lower level. Hulk jumped down after her and landed on her chest feet first. Chrysalis roared in pain but managed to get her hands underneath Hulk's feet and toss him off. Hulk rolled and came back up on his feet, jumping into the air and attempting an elbow drop. Chrysalis put her feet up and caught Hulk on them, using his own momentum against him and launching him head over heels. Hulk crashed into a donut shop and landed upside down.
"Ugh, how Hulk losing?" he asked himself.
'Actually, you two seem evenly matched,' Banner said with a frown. 'Which is odd. She shouldn't be able to mirror your movements so perfectly. It's like she knows everything you can--WATCH OUT!' Hulk looked forward just in time to watch two feet slam into his face and kick him out through the other side of the building. He pushed up through the rubble with a roar, angry that he as being beten by an imposter.
"GRAAAAHHHHH! HULK TEAR PUNY BUG LADY IN TWO!" Hulk screamed as he burst back through the building and grabbed Chrysalis, swinging her around and tossing her back up to the higher levels. Hulk jumped up past Chrysalis' flailing body and came to a stop above her, lifting both hands over his head. He started a powerful double smash...only to watch as Chrysalis changed her shape into that of a fruit bat and zipped right out of the way. She flew behind him as he began to tumble through the air and changed into dark Hulk, driving her fist down into his back and sending him crashing to the city streets. Hulk pulled himself out of the massive crater that he had made and shook his head, trying to clear the stars out of his eyes.
"Puny bug lady's changing power getting the better of Hulk," Hulk growled, but struggled to get himself up.
'Yeah, her shape-shifting ability is definitely giving her the upper hand,' Banner agreed. 'So what do you say we return the favor?'
"What Banner mean?"
'I mean that she's not the only one who can transform,' Banner said with a little bit of evil in his voice. 'What do you think Hulk? What to give it a try?'
"Hulk like the way Banner think!" Hulk said with a smile as Chrysalis landed next to them, hissing and rushing towards them. Hulk got back to his feet and started to rush towards her as well, bringing a fist back just as she did. But right before the two collided, Hulk allowed Banner to take over and shrunk the both of them down to his size. Banner went into a slide which confused Chrysalis, then Banner turned back into the Hulk as they slid between her legs. Hulk grabbed onto her ankles and swung her into the ground as he got up, shattering the street beneath her. He picked her up and slammed her repeatedly into the ground. She managed to escape his grasp by changing into a pegasus and flying up, before changing back into the dark Hulk. Hulk smiled and jumped up as well, but morphed into Banner who grabbed onto one of her arms and swung himself over her this time. Hulk took over and grabbed Chrysalis from behind, placing her in a 'Full Nelson' wrestling hold as both of them slammed face first into the pavement.
"HULK IS STRONGEST!" he roared as he lifted the limp dark Hulk up from the ground and punched it in the gut. Chrysalis coughed up green blood and hissed weakly, causing her swarm of changelings to re-attack Hulk. Hulk dropped her and turned towards the new threat ready to fight...until a blast of magic that was the same color as midnight knocked a number of the changelings back.
"Why night pony get in Hulk's way?" Hulk asked Luna as she landed in front of him.
"You told me to stay out of the fight with the other you," Luna said with a smirk. "However, the changelings are fair game." She let loose a battle cry and charged towards the changelings, with her night guard following her into battle. Hulk smiled as she began to flatten them with her might, combined with the guards' walloping the changelings. Hulk turned his attention back to the dark Hulk, who had just gotten to her feet.
"Puny bug lady ready to lose?" Hulk asked her as he grabbed her head and forced her to look up at him. "Hulk enjoy smashing you." Hulk brought his fist back and slammed it into her face, breaking bones and drawing blood. Hulk continued to punch her, his fist gaining power with every hit. "Puny bug lady thought she could beat Hulk, thought she was stronger! Hulk show her that Hulk is strongest!"
'Hulk, that's enough. She's beaten,' Banner said in the back of his mind. Hulk ignored him and continued to punch the already motionless Chrysalis. Hulk went for the final punch, but his arm suddenly wouldn't move.
"Banner better let Hulk smash bug lady," Hulk growled. "Or Hulk smash Banner."
'You know that's not how it works,' Banner said. 'Now let her-' Hulk umphed as she punched him below the belt and doubled him over, jumping up and driving her elbow into his back. Hulk was slammed into the ground while Chrysalis grabbed his ankle and began to spin. She built up more and more speed with each rotation before letting go. Hulk sailed off with a roar into the distance, letting the broken Chrysalis to walk over to Luna, who had been pinned by multiple changelings.
"Well...Princess Luna..." Chrysalis panted, trying to fix her shattered jaw. "But...as you've seen...your champion is no-"
"BUG LLLAAAADDDDDYYYYYY!!"
Chrysalis didn't even have time to turn as Hulk descended from the sky holding a large chunk of rock.
"GGGGAAAAMMMMMAAAAAA CCCCCRRRRRUUUUUUSSSSSSHHHHHH!!"
Luna rolled away while the changelings fled for their lives as Hulk came crashing down on Chrysalis, destroying her and anything else around them. The entirety of Canterlot shook under the force of the impact as Luna was forced to throw up a shield just to save herself from debris. Once the debris had finally died down, Luna walked over to the crater that used to be the airship shop and looked into it. Hulk was pulling himself out of the crater while a smoldering Chrysalis was lying at the bottom, not moving at all.
"Well, you know how to make an entrance," she said with a smile as she offered Hulk her hoof. Hulk growled and ignored it, dazed and trying to stand.
"Where bug lady?" he asked her.
"She won't be bothering anypony again," Luna said as she looked back down at her body. "So that just leaves-"
"Good job Hulk, five star match," a voice said from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "But, can you handle Discord's circus extravaganza!?" Hulk snarled as a massive curtain appeared in front of them, opening to reveal what looked like a gladiatorial arena. Hulk jumped through the curtains and into the center, preparing for the next bout.
Author's Note
Late night chapter because I can.
Hulk looked up towards the viewing booth, snarling at the figure who sat in the lavish chair that he had conjured for himself. Discord sat on his throne, sipping some drink and looking down at Hulk with a smirk. He snapped his fingers and suddenly the empty stadium was filled with cheering ponies, none of whom were real but only shadows and statues. He stood up and held out his hands to silence the roaring crowd while walking to the booth's edge.
"Mares and gentlecolts! Let me be the first to welcome you to Discord's battle royal!" he cried out to the crowd, who started roaring in approval. Discord held out his hands again and the crowd fell silent. "Today, for one day only, we will see if the challenger can defeat not only the creatures I throw at him, but also his demons from his past as well. So mares and gentlecolts...LLLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!" The crowd went nuts, while Hulk started to look around for his first opponent. From a gate that opened up behind him came his foe, a creature with many different animal parts to form its shape.
"That right, the ferocious manticore will start things off," Discord said with a chuckle. "Now, how will Hulk fare against-?"
"RRRRAAAAHHHHH!!" Hulk charged straight at the manticore and shattered its face with one punch, launching it back against the coliseum wall with such force that it was blasted back into darkness. The crowd fell silent as Hulk turned to Discord with a smile.
"Puny manitcore weak. Hulk stronger than anything thrown at him."
'Careful, Hulk, he seems to be able to manipulate the reality around him to create whatever he wants,' Banner reminded him. 'Caution is our best bet for now.'
"W-well, it seems that the Hulk is stronger than I thought," Discord said with a smile. "And it seems that any of the creatures from our world that I send at him would be a waste. So, let's try something from HIS world instead." Discord snapped his fingers and another creature took shape. But this wasn't a living being, because it had purple and blue armor, glowing red eyes and was even larger than the Hulk.
'A Sentinel,' Banner said with a frown.
"Puny tin can!" Hulk responded with a roar as he leapt up at the robot. It looked down at him and shot its fist off its arm and caught Hulk in the stomach with it, launching the Hulk back into the ground. Hulk skidded a bit as the fist continued to push him along the ground, but he eventually managed to wrestle it off of him and get back up. "Puny tin can stronger than Hulk thought," he growled as the fist went back to its owner. "But Hulk smash all the same." The Sentinel opened its mouth and fired out a beam of energy towards the Hulk, but he ducked underneath of it and drove his fist into the robot's knee. Hulk growled in frustration as the metal did bend, but not enough to impede the robot. Sentinel swung with the foot Hulk had just been standing on and kicked him in the chest, sending him into the wall.
'Hulk, we need a plan of attack. 'Head on' doesn't work against Sentinel,' Banner said as Hulk pulled himself out of the wall. 'I think that you should try to go for the head and arms, that's where most of the weapons are said to be located.' Hulk focused on the right arm and leapt for it, watching as the robot swung at him. Hulk caught its arm and used it to swing himself towards its shoulder, driving both his feet into the shoulder before slamming both fists into it as well. Hulk smiled as the force crumpled the Sentinel's arm, breaking it off. Hulk kicked off of the Sentinel and landed on the coliseum floor, smiling as the Sentinel's arm hit the ground.
"Puny robot not so tough," Hulk smiled. The Sentinel looked down at its arm and looked back up at the Hulk, starting to advance towards him.
'Hulk, now try his legs. Without them he will collapse.' Hulk nodded and charged at the Sentinel, dodging its mutliple attempts to shoot him. Hulk drop-kicked the knee that he had injured earlier and shattered the robot's knee, toppling the giant robot. Hulk then leapt up onto its shoulders and tore his fingers into the robot's head, lifting up with his might. Discord's face fell as Hulk ripped the robot's head clean off and tossed it at him, snapping his fingers to throw up a shield.
"PUNY ROBOT NOT AS STRONG AS HULK!" Hulk roared as the Sentinel's head bounced off the shield, as the rest of it vanished in a puff of smoke. Discord looked at Hulk in a different light now, realizing that none of his cheap tricks were going to work against him. Time to use his big guns.
"Alright Hulk, it seems that you are indeed a much greater foe than I originally thought. But can you defeat those that have tried to defeat you for so long?" Another snap of his fingers caused even more shadows to appear, but this time they were all people that Hulk recognized: Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor; each of whom were people Hulk had fought in the past. "This is your final challenge, Hulk. If you can defeat them, then you will have the chance to personally battle the God of Chaos himself...ME!" The crowd roared in approval as Spiderman shot a bit of webbing into Hulk's eyes and blinded him, giving Thor the chance to attack him while he tried to get the webbing off his eyes. Hulk tore off the webbing to see a hammer slam into his jaw and knock him backwards.
"Oooo..." the crowd said together as Hulk picked himself up. Hulk snarled and charged towards Thor, arms outstretched to catch him if he tried to move. Thor smiled as repulsor blasts struck Hulk in the back and stopped his charge. Hulk spun around to face Iron Man who put all of his power into his thrusters and flew into Hulk's gut, pushing the giant towards Thor. Thor brought his hammer back as Hulk got closer and swung a home run hit into his back. Hulk staggered from the blow while Thor brought his hammer back and slammed it into the back of his head.
'Hulk, 'iron shield'!' Hulk barely registered what Banner said, but his body followed his words. Hulk grabbed Iron Man and placed him behind his back, smiling as the sound of hammer on metal rang in his ears. Before either could register what he had done, Hulk spun around and slammed Iron Man into Thor, tossing the both of them. He barely had a moment to celebrate as Spiderman shot webbing into his eyes again and kicked him on the bridge of his nose.
"Puny bug man should know that bug man can't hurt Hulk," Hulk growled as he ripped the webbing off.
"Yeah? Well big ugly forgot that he can only hurt others," Spiderman shot back in a voice eerily similar to Peter's. "Let's be honest Hulk, all you do is kill and destroy. That's what you are. A monster."
"HULK NOT MONSTER! HULK STRONGEST!" Hulk roared as he barrled towards Spiderman. Spidey flipped out of the way and shot two strands of webbing into the wall, using himself like a slingshot. Hulk saw it coming and spun to catch the spider as he came flying towards the Hulk feet first. Hulk grabbed both his legs and shattered them with a bit of pressure, smiling as Spiderman cried out in pain before slamming him into the ground. Hulk looked up as Mjolnir came flying into his face and knocked some of Hulk's teeth out while forcing him away from Spider-Man.
"Prepare thyself, for now you face a god!" Thor roared as Mjolnir returned to his hand. Thor lifted the hammer high as bolts of lightning came down to strike it. "HAVE AT THEE!" Thor yelled as he threw Mjolnir at the Hulk. Hulk snarled and planted both his feet into the ground while cupping his hands around his gut to catch Mjolnir. But even the Hulk's mighty strength was unable to stop the hammer, which slammed into Hulk's gut and drove him across the ground, where Hulk's still-planted feet created tears in the ground while the lightning and steel pushed him into the wall. Hulk groaned and sank to the ground as the hammer returned to Thor's outstretched hand.
"You fought well giant, but you cannot defeat a god," Thor said as he walked towards Hulk, beginning to spin the hammer. Hulk lifted his head weakly as Thor stood in front of him, lifting the hammer over his head. "Fare thee well." Right before Thor could swing the hammer, Hulk's foot shot out and caught him in the knee, snapping it. Thor cried out in pain as Hulk sprung up and grabbed the thunder god's hammer arm and threw him into Spiderman, hammer arm first, crushing the spider under Mjolir. Thor had just enough time to turn around as Hulk came crashing down from the sky on top of him, crushing Thor underneath his body.
"Puny god has fallen! Hulk face chaos god now!" Hulk roared as he held up Thor's broken body. Discord frowned and snapped his fingers again, the three heroes vanishing from sight.
"Very well, Hulk, just as we agreed, you will now face me," Discord said as he left his chair and floated down into the arena, theme music playing and the crowd going nuts for him. "But can you beat the master of disaster, the king of the ring and the boss of chaos?!" Discord asked him with a smile. Hulk's response was to roar and charge straight at Discord, extending his arms to his side so that he could catch Discord no matter which way he went. Discord smirked at the charging Hulk and snapped his fingers, a white light consuming both him and the Hulk. When Hulk could see again, he found Discord standing in front of him...and an active volcano below them. While Discord was safe from the lava since he could fly, Hulk could not. So Discord watched with a smile as Hulk fell with a roar into the lava below, watching as his green body slowly sank beneath the surface.
"Well, that was easy," Discord said with a smirk as he floated down above the lava's surface, shaking his hand at the bubbling pool. "I hate to have to burn ponies alive, but fortunately for me the Hulk isn't a pony. Welp, time to head back to Moony and-" Discord was cut off mid-sentence as a burning green hand shot out of the lava and grabbed hold of his leg, causing Discord to look down in terror at the smiling face of the Hulk that surfaced.
"Hulk burn you," Hulk said evily before he dove back down under the lava with Discord in tow. Discord howled with pain as the lava began to consume him, while Hulk pulled Discord closer to him and brought back his fist to end it. Before he could strike, Discord snapped his fingers and the scenery changed again, this time Hulk found himself floating under the sea. Discord panted heavily as the burning sensation began to die down and he glared at Hulk.
"Alright, maybe fire was too nice for you. This time I'll let the sea crush you for me!" he roared before clapping his hands together, causing the currents around Hulk to start to swirl around him. Hulk let loose a dilulated roar as the currents started to drag him under, fighting against the sea with all his might to no avail. "Finally it's done," Discord muttered after Hulk had sunk down beyond where he could see. "Darn beast, setting me ablaze like that. He really should...No..." Discord muttered as he heard the sound of plates beneath the sea shaking. He snapped his fingers to teleport down from where the chaos was coming to find Hulk still alive and pushing against the very force of the sea with all his strength. With one last push, Hulk kicked himself straight up, rocketing out of the currents and pressure in which Discord thought he had trapped him. Hulk grabbed the draconis by the tail and dragged him to the surface of the ocean in which Discord had dropped him. Hulk grabbed Discord by the throat and started to choke him, forcing the Master of Chaos to snap his fingers once again. This time Hulk found himself standing outside of what looked like Ponyville, but everything was weird and different. The buildings were floating, chocolate rained from the skies and nothing seemed to make sense. Discord stood back up, glaring at the Hulk with a look of pure rage.
"Very well creature, I wanted to do this without dirtying my hands, but it seems that I must deal with you personally." Discord raised one hand and a pillar of rock shot out of the ground, tossing Hulk into the air. Discord raised both hands and summoned two more mountains of stone, which he then forced to collide by slamming his hands together. The mountains obeyed him as they crushed the Hulk from both sides with tons of rock and stone. Then, Discord clasped his hands together and pointed them at the ground, cutting out a large chuck of the planet, which he then lifted over the mountains. "Farewell." With a yell Discord brought the chunck of rock on top of the mountain, crushing it as well as any thing inside. Discord then sighed as he turned back towards Canterlot, but was stopped once again when the ground began to shake. He spun around to see the giant pile of rocks start to leave the ground, revealing one very alive and angry giant beneath.
"Hulk see what you can do and Hulk not impressed," Hulk said with a smirk, lifting the mountain of rock over his head. "This is how you crush someone!" Discord brought his hands together as Hulk threw the mountain at him, using his magic to stop it just over his head. Discord smirked as the mountain came to a stop...only to realize that Hulk had been planning something else
"GAAAAMMMMAAAAA QQQQQUUUUUAAAAAAAKKKKKKEEE!" Discord couldn't even snap his fingers as Hulk slammed his fists into the mountain for all he was worth; the shockwave generated by the impact shattered the mountain and rained debris down upon Discord, who tried to teleport away but was quickly consumed by the rubble and debris. He managed to hold off most of the debris, but even he couldn't stop the giant green monster that drove both his feet into his chest. Hulk stepped off of the crushed Discord with a smirk while he bent down to pick Discord up by the end of his tail, an evil grin spreading on his face as he lifted Discord above his head...and dropped him back to the ground, figuring that anymore might just kill the god. However, Hulk did have one last thing to say.
"Puny god," Hulk said with a smile, walking away as Discord struggled to breathe. Hulk looked around with a smirk as Discord's world began to dissapate, returning the world to how it was supposed to look, an amazing city that was on fire with changelings flying all over the place. He was happy to be back.
"Hulk." Hulk turned to see Luna and Pinkie standing next to him, smiles on their faces. "Glad to see that you are alright. I'm even happier to see that Discord has been defeated."
"Puny god no match for Hulk! Hulk is strongest!" Hulk said with a grin.
"I'm just glad that you're alright," Pinkie said with a sigh, walking over and hugging his leg. "We managed to get most of the ponies out of Canterlot and the baddies seem to only be focusing on you. The other girls will be here soon, but there's still a lot going on." Hulk noticed that she was covered in soot, and that smile he had always seen on her was gone. Hulk looked around and realized that her home, or at least something close to it, was burning. Hulk got down to a knee and smiled down at Pinkie.
"Pony no worry, Hulk stop puny creatures," Hulk said with a grin. A gasp was heard from Luna and Hulk turned to see what she had gasped at. Nightmare Moon was standing on a balcony that came from the throne room, a smile on her face as she looked down at them.
"You did well to defeat both Chrysalis and Discord, but they played their parts," she said with a grin, looking up at the sky with a smile. She closed her eyes and let the magic flow from her horn, a magic that began to change all of Equestria, all of the planet. Everypony everywhere watched as the sun sank into the horizon, while the moon rose to take its place, leaving the world cast in a shadow that encompassed all of Equestria. Nightmare Moon let out a sigh and opened her eyes, a smile on her face. "Isn't that better? Now the night shall finally rule again! But I am not an unfair ruler. If you can manage to defeat me, Hulk, before the moon has reached its zenith, I will remove the moon from the sky. Come to the throne room when you are ready and prepare for the end."
"You plan to face her, don't you?" Luna asked as Nightmare Moon vanished. Hulk nodded and started to walk towards the throne room, but a pink hoof stopped him.
"Hulk, you're hurt," Pinkie said, pointing to wounds from his battle with Chrysalis and Discord that hadn't healed. "You can't fight her like that."
"Why Hulk not healing?" Hulk whispered to Banner.
'You've been active for far to long without your usual amount of rage to sustain you, and you haven't taken a break,' Banner said. 'You're body won't hold unless you either get really mad or switch back into me for a while.'
"But if we switch back now to recover..." Hulk began.
'Then Equestria will be placed in eternal night,' Banner finished for him. 'It will take maybe a full day to recover and that is time we do not have.' Hulk looked up at where Nightmare Moon was hiding, knowing that she had as much power as he did thanks to his blood. Hulk knew that he would be in a fight for his life. But as he took one look at the pink pony that he had decided to be his friend, he knew that it was a simple answer.
"Hulk go smash night pony," Hulk said as he walked towards the Canterlot castle, casting one last smile at the two behind him before he vanished from sight.
"I wish I could help him," Pinkie said to herself. Then an idea came into her mind and she raced off, a smile spreading on her face.
Hulk thought back on his time in Equestria as he began his solitary march through the Canterlot castle, ignoring the bodies of the fallen while he stomped through the empty halls. Hulk had hated the ponies at first; believed them to be weak and worthless creatures that would only seek to hurt Hulk, to try and capture Hulk just like the puny humans. That was why he kept himself away, so that they couldn't hurt him. But as more and more time went on, Hulk had come to realize that the ponies weren't all bad, even if he'd never admit it. Once he had realized that, Hulk had decided to stay away from the ponies so that he wouldn't hurt them. They hadn't deserved his wrath; they had done nothing to him. The pink one even thought of him as a friend and saw him as one...not a monster. None of them did.
'All except for me,' Banner's voice said in Hulk's head. Hulk stayed silent while Banner continued, having nothing left to say. 'I thought that by staying away from the ponies that I could protect them from you and your wrath. But in reality, I was running away; I was the one who was afraid...afraid of what they'd think of me if they saw you; afraid that they'd think the same thing that all the others think: Monster.'
"But Hulk no monster," Hulk said, pushing open a golden gate and marching through.
'No, you are no longer the monster that you once were...the one that I thought you were,' Banner said in agreement. 'I am sorry for thinking of you as such a monster and trying to always keep you trapped in my mind....I always hated you.'
"A lot of puny humans hate Hulk," Hulk responded.
'No, not like that. I always hated you because...you were almost always better than me...stronger, faster...greater. I would always give up and run from my problems instead of facing them head on, whereas you would charge right into them and force them back yourself, never giving an inch. And then there were the times where the world was in danger or a life was on the line--like when Deadpool and the others attacked that small town we were in. I wanted to run and keep us safe, but you went back for the people, getting caught in the crossfire. You always risk yourself for humanity even when you know that they will never accept you, whereas I am already accepted, but never truly believed it.'
"Banner afraid before, but now Banner strong," Hulk said as they passed through what looked to be a library. "Banner chose to come save ponies. Banner chose to come back."
'Heh, maybe I picked up something on strength from being around you so much,' Banner said with a chuckle. 'So, think we'll manage to get out of this one alive?'
"Hulk always survive. Hulk will survive this one as well," Hulk said with a smile as he finally reached the throne room. The inside looked very different from how he, or rather Banner, had read about it. Now it was covered with a dark black and blue marble instead of the white marble that he had expected. But none of this concerned the Hulk, who glared at the one sitting on the throne with rage in his eyes. Nightmare Moon sat upon the throne, casting her gaze upon him with a sneer.
"You are such a magnificant creature, did you know that? What makes it even better is how similar we are," she said as she stood up and activated her magic, showing Hulk how she was created. "I was born of rage and jealousy to Celestia, the perfect pony that all the others loved--just like you. You were an accident created by that foal Banner, who was also loved and respected. And you too are an instrument of rage...of destruction. There is only one difference between us: You want to be alone despite the fact that you have the power to rule over all those who oppose you; I chose to rule over those who wished to leave me alone."
"What ugly pony want?" Hulk asked her, so they could get right to the point. She sighed and walked back to her throne.
"I want to make you an offer," she said as she sat back down. "I'm willing to give you something you've always longed for, the chance to be alone forever with nopony to hurt you."
"And what Hulk have to do?"
"Nothing," she said with a wicked smile. "You just have to sit back and let me take my revenge. So what do you say?"
'Don't do it, Hulk!' Banner roared in his mind, but Hulk ignored him and thought about it for a brief second--But only a second.
"Well, Hulk, how about my offer?" Nightmare Moon asked Hulk again. "Will you try to stop me?"
"No," Hulk muttered, causing Banner to gasp. "Hulk no stop you. HULK SMASH YOU!" he roared as he charged her.
"Uh-oh," was all Nightmare Moon had time to say before Hulk tackled her and drove the both of them off the top of the castle, pounding on her all the way down. The two of them slammed into the ground and kicked up a massive cloud of dust. Then, Nightmare Moon was kicked into and through a building. Hulk leapt into the air and tried to drive his fist into her, but she fired a blast of magic into his chest and knocked him back. Hulk rolled with the momentum and sprinted back towards her the moment he was on his feet. Moon ducked under a massive fist and rolled away from his attempt to knee her in the gut. She unloaded a massive spell into his side which, being fueled by the Hulk's own blood, was enough to launch him across the plaza in which they had landed, right next to a startled Pinkie. He skidded through the ground while kicking up a lot of debris as he skidded to a halt. Hulk growled and picked himself up before being assaulted with a barrage of magic bolts. Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally as Hulk vanished from her sight by a storm of spells. Her laugh died in her throat as the Hulk leapt through her magic and tackled her out of the air, dragging the both of them down to the ground. Before she could get up, Hulk placed a foot on her body and began to slam his fists into her repeatedly, as blood began to pour from her body. She blasted him off and struggled back to her hooves.
"Do you really think that you can beat me? I am the Night!" she roared in rage.
"You no pointy-ear-man!" Hulk roared in retaliation as he began to throw more and more rocks at her, forcing her to duck and weave in between the hits. She fired more and more magical attacks towards the Hulk, hoping that she could at least weaken him a bit. But none of her attacks proved to be effective against his rage. So with her magic out, she decided to go with her 'back up' plan.
"Alright Hulk, you may be a little stronger than me, but you can't stop what I'm about to do next," she said as she fired a bolt into the sky. As the magic rained down on the ponies and all of Canterlot, creatures began to emerge from the darkness, creatures that sought only to destroy. Hulk looked into the streets to find thousands of them, nearly outnumbering the ponies. "So here's my offer. You let me kill you and I won't hurt any of the ponies." Hulk took a step forward, but a scream cried out across the city and stopped him cold. "Ah hah! I know for a fact that you are nowhere near fast enough to save all the ponies before my minions of the night crush them," she said with a grin. Hulk looked around at all the ponies, his hands shaking in rage at the thought of her being right. He couldn't get to all of them fast enough.
'Hulk, change back into me,' Banner said in his mind. 'You know that it's the right thing to do.' Hulk growled in frustration, but sighed in defeat and slowly changed back into Banner. Nightmare Moon smiled at the puny human and aimed her horn at his chest.
"How ironic, that the strongest creature in the land would die weak and beaten," she said with a grin just as she prepared to fire. But right before she could, a blast hit her in the back of the head. She spun around in a rage to see...a metal man floating behind her with both arms pointed at her.
"Okay, crazy lady, this ends now," he said with an unseen smile.
"Who are you?!" she screamed at Iron Man. He answered her with a blast to the face.
"Tony, what are you doing here?" Banner asked him in disbelief as Nightmare Moon went skidding by him. Iron Man landed in front of Banner and opened his face plate.
"Your pink friend called me with the device I gave Hulk," he said with a smile, watching as Pinkie ran over to them. "She said something about wanting to make sure that Hulk was alright and that you stayed safe. The other Avengers are dealing with another threat, but I figured that they could handle it without me, because I won't let them live it down if they don't." He looked behind Banner to notice Nightmare Moon getting back up and closed his face plate. "You can handle this I take it. I'm going to go help the others." Banner smiled as Tony took off to engage the changelings, thinking that maybe he and Hulk had been wrong about the number of friends they had. Hulk took control as Nightmare got back to her hooves, her body glowing with power.
"This ends now Hulk," she said with a quiet growl. "I will kill you, then I will kill your friends. And then finally will I have my revenge."
"Please, you can't beat the Hulk," Pinkie said with a smile.
"Ugly pony no threat to Hulk," Hulk agreed. "Pony weak." Nightmare screamed and charged at him, vanishing into the shadows and re-appearing behind him to drive her magic-infused horn into her back. Hulk growled in annoyance as he reached behind him and yanked her off his back, growling at her before winding up like a baseball pitcher and letting her fly. Nightmare Moon managed to save her life by changing into darkness right before she impacted the ground, allowing her to pass right through the wall with which she almost collided. She had changed back into normal just as Hulk grabbed her by the face and tossed her into a wall, but this time she wasn't fast enough to pass through it. She shattered the wall as she went crashing through and rolled on the ground, barely able to get to her hooves.
"You might be stronger than me, but I still have one last trick up my sleeve," she said with a sneer as she let loose her magic one last time, firing two spells at once--one at Hulk and the other at Pinkie. While Hulk had to throw up his arms to defend himself, Banner watched the spell while it flew at Pinkie--it seemed to be moving in slow-motion. If he guessed what Nightmare Moon was planning, she was trying to kill Pinkie to make the Hulk go completely insane. And if he lost another friend, Hulk would probably 'go world-breaker'. But all he could do was watch helplessly as the spell flew right up to Pinkie and...ran into a barrier made of silver. Nightmare Moon looked at the barrier in confusion since there was no pony around to cast it, giving Hulk the chance he needed to jump into the air and drive both feet onto her back. She threw Hulk off with her magic and began to cough green blood, while she staggered to her hooves.
"I can't believe that something this strong exists," Nightmare Moon said while coughing up more blood. "But you will not-" Her head snapped back as Hulk tossed a chunk of rock into her face to shut her up. She staggered back just as Hulk started to barrel towards her, grabbing her with both arms and tossing her into the air. He leapt up and grabbed her rear hooves as he swung her forward into the ground. Nightmare Moon barely had time to look up as Hulk slammed his fingers into the ground beneath them, and then with all his might, toss it up as he yelled-
"GGGAAAMMMAAA TTTSSSUUUNNNAAAAMMMIIII!"
Nightmare Moon was devastated as tons of rock and debris came crashing down on her while the sea of rubble nearly drowned her. She would have been killed if Hulk had not reached through the rubble and lifted her by the throat.
"Hulk beat ugly pony. Now pony keep promise and make it bright," Hulk said, tightening his grip just a bit so that she began to cough again, while Pinkie walked up beside him. Hulk heard hoof steps and turned to see two ponies running over to him, looking from him to her in amazement.
"Wow, you already beat her?" Luna asked with amazement. "That was fast."
"Now then, Nightmare, remove the moon from the skies," Celestia said in a threatening tone. "Do not force me to 'persuade you.'
"Very well...I will do as you ask," she said with a grin as she pointed her magic upwards. The ponies began to cheer as the moon began to move...only to realize with horror that it was getting larger. "And just to be safe," she muttered before blasting Celestia and Luna in both their horns, causing them to scream and back away in pain. Hulk roared and smashed her into the ground, crushing her in his hands. Despite being completely crushed, Nightmare Moon began to laugh as Hulk looked up at the moon heading towards the planet.
"Pony lied to Hulk! Pony said that-!"
"I...said that...I would remove the moon from the sky," she said with a chuckle. "And...I have done exactly that. Now the...moon falls towards the planet. And I no longer have the power to stop it, and your princesses are to weak to try. If...I can't have...Equestria...nopony can." She laughed weakly before passing out. Hulk looked up at the approaching moon with a frown, seeing that she was right. The Elements of Harmony chose that moment to arrive on the scene.
"Princesses!" Twilight called out as she and the others rushed over to the downed princesses. Pinkie rushed over to the Hulk's side along with Iron Man, who was looking up at the moon with a grim face.
"Are you alright Hulk?" Pinkie asked him with worry, looking over his wounds with sad eyes.
"Iron Man, what should we do about the moon?" Twilight asked Iron Man, who was using all of the tech at his diposal to try and think of a plan.
"I don't know. Even the combinded strength of Hulk and the ponies wouldn't be able to throw it back into its orbit," Iron Man explained. "If I could get back to my tower I would have the resources to figure something out, but there isn't enough time."
"Wait a minute." The ponies and the Hulk looked towards Celestia, who managed to stagger to her hooves thanks to the help of her sister. "I...am not entirely powerless as of yet. If...given some time to recover, I believe that the two of us can place the moon back in it's original orbit."
"How much time are we looking at here?" Iron Man asked her.
"Ten minutes tops," she panted in response.
"That won't do. It will hit in at least seven minutes and once it does, I doubt any of the ponies will survive," Iron Man told her as he looked around at all the ponies. "The best we can hope for is to take as many of you back to our world as possible and find you a new planet where you can start over."
"We will not abandon our home," Luna said defiantly. She and Iron Man began to argue over why the other's choice was a bad one, but Hulk continued to look up at the approaching moon with cold eyes.
"Hulk stop it," Hulk said. Everypony stopped arguing, and all looked at him, confusion written into their faces.
"Hulk, you can't stop the moon. Not even you are that strong," Iron Man said.
"Hulk strongest there is. Hulk buy you time you need."
"Okay Hulk, let me put it to you this way. I scanned your current powers and you aren't firing on all cylinders. This could be the task that finally puts you down for good. And all to save some...ponies?" Iron Man didn't have time to register Hulk's hand as it shot out and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up.
"Not puny ponies. They Hulk friends," he said in a whisper. Iron Man nodded and Hulk dropped him. "Can pony move moon to area with less ponies?" he asked the princesses. Celestia and Luna looked at each other with unsure glances.
"Maybe, but moving it to a new location would not help," Luna told him. "Once it reaches the planet, it's only a matter of time."
"Then Hulk buy you time," he replied. "Get Hulk to place where moon land. Then Hulk stop moon." The princesses weren't sure whether or not to go through with the plan, but Hulk's face told them that they didn't have much of a choice.
"Very well Hulk, we will do as you request." Twilight took over here and began to charge the massive teleportation spell, having to draw on the power of her Element to do so. While the spell charged up, Pinkie walked over to Hulk, who was staring at the sky.
"Do you really have to do this?" Pinkie asked him.
"If Hulk don't do this, ponies die," Hulk responded gently, looking down at her.
"Iron Man says that you could die," she said softly as she sat down beside him and watched the moon get closer. "Could you really?"
"Hulk never die. Hulk too strong," Hulk replied, but Pinkie didn't hear any of his usual arrogance in his voice.
"Hulk, I'm ready," Twilight said as she walked over to him, her horn crackling with power. Hulk nodded and started to walk over to her, but a pink hoof grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Do you really have to go?" she asked him in a whisper, tears falling down her face. Hulk knelt down and gently placed his hand on her face to wipe away the tear.
"If Hulk can't save pink pony friend, what point in being strongest?" Hulk asked her with a small smile. Pinkie didn't answer, but gave him a reassuring smile as he got up and walked over to Twilight. "Hulk ready." Twilight nodded and started to let her magic encompass him.
"Hulk, when you get back, I'm throwing a massive party for you," Pinkie said with a smile.
"Hulk smash pinata," Hulk said with a smile, closing his eyes as Twilight's teleportation spell took full effect and teleported him away.
Hulk opened his eyes as he felt the teleportation energy leave him, looking around to find that he was now standing in the center of a desert that had sheer nothingness for miles. He looked up to see that the moon was directly overhead now; the sight made him smile, since he now knew that no ponies were in harm's way. Hulk started to rotate his shoulders, cracking his knuckles in preparation for what he was about to do.
'You ready to do this?' Banner asked him. Hulk smiled and planted both feet into the sand, sending out a massive shockwave across the sea of sand.
"Hulk always ready to smash," Hulk said with a chuckle. Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye and turned his head with a snarl, seeing that he wasn't alone. "What shiney pony want now?" he asked the silver mare, who was sitting next to him, gazing up at the moon.
'I still do not get you,' she said softly. 'You are a monster, but you are willing to die to save these ponies. The other you is afraid to be harmed, but he is always the first to make a sacrifice. You are the polar opposite of my other two champions, yet you are still here, still trying to save them. Are all creatures from your world like you?'
"Puny pony don't get it," Hulk said with a smirk, glad to see that he had confused her. "Hulk not monster, Hulk not hero either. Hulk is what Hulk chooses to be. And now, Hulk choose to catch puny moon!"
'And you were right in saying that I was afraid of being hurt before,' Banner told her. Both he and Hulk were a little surprised when it seemed that she could hear him, for she nodded for Banner to go on. 'I was always running, afraid of the monster inside. But now I realize, all that my running does is hurt others, that by abandoning them I hurt them worse than Hulk ever could. And ironically, it took Hulk to help me realize that. But I'm no longer afraid. Now I know where I belong. I belong here, helping these ponies.' The silver mare nodded, seemingly happy with his answer.
"Why silver pony care so much?" Hulk asked her with a growl. She looked up at the moon that was almost upon them, remaining quiet for a minute.
'I have watched as monsters have torn the lives of ponies apart,' she said softly. 'And I have watched as the only ones who could stop them fell to their wrath. So, I go wherever I can to try and help. And when I cannot help, I bring a champion to the land to defend it and its inhabitants. I thought I had chosen poorly with you, but it seems that once again I was proven wrong.'
"Don't thank Hulk yet," Hulk muttered as the moon began to enter the atmosphere, fire spreading all along its face as it screamed down towards them. "Hulk still have to stop moon."
'Even if you fail, thank you for taking care of them,' she whispered as she sat down, concentrating with all her power. 'I will keep the planet from being torn apart, but you have to stop the moon.' As she said this, tendrils of silver energy shot off in every direction, wrapping themselves around the planet. Hulk noticed that as she did this, her body became so transparent that he could barely see her, but he couldn't focus on that at the moment. Hulk ignored her and let everything else leave his mind, focusing on his rage, trying to make himself as strong as possible before the moon hit. And for the first time in his life, he had trouble summoning the source of his strength. Normally he could draw it from the way he was treated or how others attacked him, but now...this land had accepted both him and Banner with open hooves and was willing to try and understand him. They did not hate him and none of them wanted to hurt him. So Hulk had to try and draw upon as much rage as he could before Banner got his attention.
'Hulk. It's time.' Hulk looked up to see that the moon had completely covered the land, casting all in darkness. He could feel the earth begin to shake under his feet as the sheer force of the moon approaching caused the land to shiver in fear. Hulk flexed his muscles one last time before lifting his hands up to catch the satellite. Before it hit, he did something that he had never done before. He made a promise.
"Hulk promise that he live. Hulk promise that he return," Hulk said with a small grin. "Pinkie promise." And then the moon reached him and it was beyond anything he could have imagined. Hulk roared in pain as the moon came crashing down onto his arms, all of its weight and force being transfered into him. The ground beneath him was obliterated as the falling satellite met the Monster of Rage and the entirety of the planet shook from the collison. All of Hulk's muscles screamed out as the moon pressed down on him with a force that even he wasn't ready for. Hulk's knees almost gave out as he tried in vain to hold the moon up, but felt it start to push him back with each passing second. Hulk struggled with all his might to push it up, but the combination of the previous fights and lack of rage were taking their toll on him. Hulk closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the ground constantly gave way beneath him, causing him to buckle more than once.
"Hulk...stop...moon," he said, trying to motivate himself to be stronger, but he could feel his consciousness begin to slip away. Hulk's ankle was the first bone to break, the sudden snap caused him to fall to one knee. And although he couldn't see it, his fall had caused cataclysms on many different continents. The griffon kingdom was flooded by tsunamis and the dragon land was tearing itself apart with massive earthquakes. Banner continued to scream at Hulk from inside his mind, but Hulk could no longer hear it. Hulk's arms had finally been pushed down far enough to the point where the moon now rested on his shoulders, and the added weight nearly caused him to face-plant; the only reason he didn't was because he stuck his foot out at the last second to catch himself. His breath was next to go as his lungs almost gave out, and the lack of oxygen was draining whatever strength he had left. A minute had barely passed, out of the five he needed, but already he was about to drop over.
"Hulk sorry," he whispered to himself with the remaining breath he had. "Hulk sorry that Hulk wasn't strong enough, that ponies lose home. Hulk sorry, 'cause Hulk know how it feels." Hulk then began to allow the moon to fall on top of him, thinking that if he couldn't stop it, then at least he could go with the ponies. Unknown to him as well, the ponies over in Canterlot were watching the moon strike the desert and were suffering from their own problems.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE MAGIC WON'T WORK?!" Pinkie screamed at the two princesses, who were doing everything in their power to get their magic to work.
"It is as we said, no matter how hard we try our magic will not flow," Luna snapped back, trying once again in vain to use her magic. Celestia looked over at the broken body of Nightmare Moon, noticing that she was silently laughing to herself.
"What is so funny?" she asked her with a glare.
"Did you honestly think that I would allow you to use your magic even if there was the smallest chance of you stopping me?" she asked with a grin before almost coughing up her lungs. "There is no way for you to use your magic now. Equestria will be consumed by the moon." She continued to laugh as Celestia glared at her before walking back over to the other ponies.
"She has done something to our magic," Celestia said sadly, looking off into the distance at the sight of the moon crushing their planet. She could hear the ponies in he city panicking as the ground shook with extreme force, her unicorn squadron doing all they could to keep the city from falling. She joined the others as they all stared off into the distance, watching as the moon sunk lower and lower into the ground.
"Is Hulk alright?" Pinkie asked her with worry in her voice. Celestia shook her head with uncertainty.
"I know not. We can only hope." As the ponies looked off towards where the moon was tearing into the ground, Hulk was barely holding his own. The moon was completely crushing him now, having forced him down to his hands and knees while it pressed down on his back. Hulk's body had broken in several places and his strength was fading fast, telling him that it was only a matter of time.
'Giving up already?' Hulk barely had the strength to turn his head, but he managed to do so just enough so that he could see the silver mare standing next to him. 'I thought that you were supposed to be the strongest there is?'
"Hulk...is strongest," Hulk spat back before roaring in pain as the moon continued to press down on him.
'I don't believe you,' she said, looking up at the moon and holding out one hoof to touch it. 'How long it has been since I have seen the moon in the sky...well, seen the moon. If it wasn't about to crush all of this land it would have been perfect.' Hulk didn't respond, instead he braced himself as the moon pressed down on his back. The silver mare looked at the Hulk with a frown, as he had been her hope for this land. But in his current state, it was likely that none of these ponies would survive, let alone the Hulk. So she did what no sane person or pony would ever do. She began to taunt the Hulk.
'And here I thought you called yourself the strongest because it was true, not to hide the fact that you are so weak," she spat with a sneer. 'The great and powerful Hulk can't even lift a bit of rock without whining about it. How I managed to convince myself that you could actually help all these ponies was beyond me.' She smiled to herself as Hulk roared in rage at her and began to push up...then his knees buckled and he fell back down to all fours, green blood dripping from his mouth. His rage wasn't enough--the one thing that powered the Hulk more than anything and it was failing him. How weakened had he become? She looked around at the massive crater that had been caused by the moon pushing down on the Hulk, deciding that there was only one chance left. She would have to appeal through those he cared about.
'Hulk, listen to me right now,' she said in her most seroius tone, speaking in his mind as well as aloud to him so that she was sure that he'd hear her. 'If you don't stop the moon right now, all life in Equestria will be wiped out. All of Ponyville, all of the ponies...even the baby ponies. The princesses can do nothing, their magic has been blocked. You are their only hope. You have to be stronger.' She thought that he hadn't heard her, that he was too far gone by the way that he hung his head. But then he whispered something that she barely heard.
"Even Pinkie?"
'Yes, even Pinkie.' Then Hulk's body began to tremble as he began to get mad; not mad at the fact that he would fail, but that those little ponies that he had held in his hand would be gone as well without a chance to live their lives That the only friend he had ever known--who hadn't truly hurt him--would die. That he wasn't strong enough. And much to the surprise of the silver mare, Hulk began to get up. He started by slamming one fist into the moon that sent cracks all along its front. Then, he plowed his other fist into it and raised up a bit, allowing him to get to his feet. Hulk stood up again to his full height, holding the moon on his shoulders much like Atlas had done in the stories. And then he began to yell.
"Puny moon think that it can smash Hulk? Think it can hurt Hulk's friends?" He roared at the moon as he placed his hands on it and began to push. Her eyes widened as she saw that he was not only pushing the moon back, but was doing so with ease. "If moon land, then it smash Hulk 's friends and baby ponies. And if ponies get smashed, then Hulk get angry. And the angrier Hulk get, the stronger Hulk get!" With each one of his words, the Hulk began to push up on the moon with more and more power, until he was lifting the whole moon over his head. "And Hulk continue to get angry and stronger until..." Hulk began as he drew his fist back. "HULK BECOME THE STRONGEST THERE IS!" he roared as he slammed his fist into the moon for all he was worth, the impact of his green fist into the side of it launched the moon back a bit. The silver mare looked upon Hulk with amazement, seeing that his entire body was giving off a green glow as his power reached a stage to which he rarely went. Some would call it 'World Breaker Hulk', but this time he was using it to save the world. Before the moon could start to come back down, Hulk leapt up into the air and punched it again, sending it even farther back. As Hulk landed on the ground after his last punch, he began to focus all of his strength into his legs, causing the entire planet to shake under his power. And when Hulk let loose a cry to the heavens that tore them apart, he then launched himself into the air at the moon, aiming both of his feet towards it.
"HULK SMASH MOOOOOONNN!" he screamed as he drove both feet into it, his power such that no other could match, and began to drive the moon back, breaking it free of the planet's gravity and pushing it back towards space. Hulk continued to slam his fist into it all the way up, roaring the entire time as he was fueled by the thoughts of the ponies dying. Once the moon had reached the upper atmosphere, Hulk brought his fist back one more time and slammed it into the moon for all he was worth, launching the moon away far from the planet's gravity, filled with so much momentum that only after it had gone far beyond the planet did it finally crack in half. Hulk looked upon what he did with raised eyebrows.
"Hulk owe...Luna...new moon." Then Hulk started to fall back towards he planet. His strength had been completely exhausted and even though he was in the atmosphere, he slowly began to change back.
'Hulk, you can't change back!' Banner yelled in his head. 'If you do we're both dead!'
"Hulk don't care. Ponies safe and Hulk tired," Hulk said in a mumble, closing his eyes as they continued to fall. Banner had to think fast. As fine as he was with the Hulk switching back, he didn't want it to happen right now. So he figured that he had to make Hulk angry one last time.
'It's okay, Hulk. I understand that you can't be as strong as Thor.'
"WHAT PUNY BANNER SAY?!" Hulk screamed at him as they plummeted back down to Equestria.
---=-=---
The ponies reached the desert a few hours later, amazed by the fact that not only was their planet still around, but also that the Hulk had apparently cracked the moon in half--something that Luna wasn't happy about, but she told them that once her magic returned she could repair it. Celestia and Luna had used the Elements of Harmony to trap Chrysalis, Discord and Nightmare Moon in stone until they had decided what to do with them, wanting to find Hulk as soon as possible. They had taken the princesses' personal airship in hopes that its added speed would lead them to the Hulk faster. Not that it wasn't hard to find where he was, they just had to look for the gouge in the planet. Once they had found it, they landed the ship near the center, amazed at how far down the moon had dug into the earth. While most of the ponies gaped in awe at all of the destruction, Pinkie left the ship in a dead sprint, heading right for the Hulk. She found him laying on his back, starring up at the sky.
"HULK!" she screamed as she ran over to him. She let out a sigh of relief that she had been holding in when she saw his eyes look over at her. She sat down next to him and looked over his body, glad to see that he didn't seem hurt. "Thank Celestia that you're alright. Did...you really break the moon in two?"
"Pink pony sound like she's surprised," Hulk said weakly, not even having the strength to sit up. "Hulk is strongest there is."
"Yeah, you are...wait a minute, you just called me 'pink pony', not 'puny pony'!" she said excitedly with a massive smile.
"Hulk have no idea what puny pony talking about," Hulk said quickly before letting out a yawn."Are all ponies safe?"
"Yeah, all the ponies are safe. You did it."
"Good, cause Hulk tired...Hulk..." Hulk closed his eyes as his body began to shrink back down, changing back into Dr. Banner within a few seconds. He yawned as well and sat up, looking over at the other ponies that had just joined them. "Hey there, everypony? That was one heck of a day, huh?"
"Just glad to see that you're alright," Twilight said with a smile as she offered Banner a hoof to help him up, a hoof that he gladly accepted. He staggered a bit as he stood up and leaned on AJ for support. "That was certainly crazy. I honestly didn't know if the Hulk would be able to stop the moon in time."
"Neither did I, in all honesty," he replied with a small sigh. "I'm just glad that he did. Can we head back home now? I need to change my clothes." Twilight smiled in response and all the ponies helped him to the ship, with one of them ready for a long day of relaxation.
---=-=---
The next three days passed in the blink of an eye. Banner had come back to Ponyville to receive a hero's welcome, and a massive party (put together by Pinkie of course) had been thrown for him. Tony had also come back after the events of the attack, giving Banner his offer one last time.
"Are you sure that you want to stay?" Tony had asked Banner as they had watched the other ponies party.
"They need me here, you'd be surprised how far behind their tech is," he replied with a smile as he watched Pinkie dance with the foals. "Besides, I feel happy here, like I'm finally starting to do good for the first time. Also, Hulk really likes it here and he's generally the one who makes these calls."
"I'm glad that you finally found a place where you feel like you belong," Tony said with a smile. "Still, it's going to be a bit scary knowing that our big green friend won't be there to help out the Avengers. And Banner....about what's happened between us in the past..."
"It's in the past, Tony, and that's where it should stay," Banner said as he leaned back in his chair, completely calm. Tony looked at him and smirked.
"Yeah, I suppose so. I can still take apart the Hulk Buster suits to show you that I believe Hulk has changed, if you want?"
'No. Keep them. Hulk like smashing tin cans.'
"Hulk says you can keep them, but only so he can smash them."
"Sounds fine by me, but I'll have no use for them since you won't be around."
"You can still call whenever you need us," Banner replied. The ponies had started a drinking game and Tony watched with a frown as they drank.
"That's not how you down shots. Let me show you how it's done," he had said as he walked over to the ponies. Banner sighed and opened his eyes to leave the memory, looking down at the paper that Twilight had placed in front of him. She wanted him to write a letter to Celestia about what he had learned in the time he had been here. So as he picked up the pen, he began to write his thoughts:
'Dear Celestia,
As much as I hate to admit it, I have learned a lot about something I knew very little about back on my world, despite how smart I thought was. I learned that I can't always be afraid of hurting others and staying away, because sometimes that causes just as much pain as staying away. Sometimes I need to learn to help despite being afraid.
And Hulk learned that sometimes he has to be willing to trust others despite things that have happened in the past. That he can be strong enough to try and make friends even when he's afraid that they'll hurt him. And that being strong means being able to stand up for others even if you don't care for them.
Your two crazy humans,
Banner looked down at the letter with a nod, thinking that the princess would like it. He stood up and signaled to Twilight that he was done, and she came down from the top floor to walk with him to the post office. They walked down the street in silence, one of them happy that it wasn't raining while the other was looking around at the ponies that had come to accept him and his other half. Banner had become an inspiration at the hospital; most of the other doctors would bug him for days trying to learn his secrets. Hulk had become a protector of sorts, helping out whenever the ponies were in danger. He said that he didn't want to be out all the time so that the ponies wouldn't bug him. Banner figured that he had earned that right after all they had gone through together.
"I want to thank you again," Twilight said, causing Banner to roll his eyes.
"Twilight, I appreciate it, but this is the fifth time you've thanked me. You can stop."
"No I can't. First, you helped save the ponies of my town; then you unleashed a monster...hero that protected us from a god of chaos, the Queen of the Changelings, Nightmare Moon and the freaking moon! You deserve a lot more than thanks, you deserve-!"
'Tell pony to be quiet or Hulk smash,' Hulk growled from the back of Banner's mind. Twilight shut up when Banner relayed the message to her as the two reached the post office. A grey pony with weird eyes came out to grab the letter before flying off with it into a wall. "Well that was weird," he muttered, coming to a stop outside the post office when he noticed that Pinkie was standing there.
"What's up?" he asked her.
"Hey Banner. Um, there seems to be a problem over at the Diamond Dog holes and they seem to be harassing the ponies there. I don't know if Hulky wants to get involved or...?"
"I'll ask. Hulky, you want to go fight some dogs."
'Hulk no fight puny dogs,' Hulk replied as Banner felt himself begin to transform. The other ponies backed away as the transformation completed, leaving a giant green monster standing in front of them.
"Hulk smash them."
A familar scene played before her eyes. Two armies colliding on the hillside, screams of both those fighting and those dying floated through the air as the sounds of thunder rang in her ears. She could still smell the blood that had soaked the dead ground and the wails of the dying could be heard in the wind, where the greatest force of protection fell to the all-consuming lightning. With a small shake of her head, she walked back inside the broken old tower, walking over to a number of pedestals that sat in the center. Five of them were devoid of anything, but the sixth one held a golden crown with a lighting bolt in its center. But as she suspected, the one next to it lit up as a mini-gamma bomb went off. When she looked at the pedestal again, she found that a green arm band sat there, a glowing radioactive symbol in the center of it.
'Another has been claimed and by one whom I would have never suspected. How do I constantly get proven wrong?' She muttered to herself as she turned to look out the window. 'But I must hurry to find the others. With Teth now aware of my plans, it is only a matter of time before I am found. It is fortunate that he went after the Kryptonian instead of the Hulk. But in order for the other champions to be crowned, I must take a more active role. Sister, help me, for I do not know if this will work.' The silver mare vanished into thin air as she said this, leaving the two glowing artifacts alone in the empty room.
Author's Note
And that wraps up yet another story. Hope all of you enjoyed it (if not, Hulk smash!), but it is time to move on to the next one. But don't feel bad, for just as the sun sets on one day, the knight will rise in its place. So watch the shadows and beware the bat.
"My name is Doctor Bruce Banner."
"I leave this recording as my final words before I go off to fight another battle. The other day, Tony Stark, a.k.a "Iron Man," informed me that an alien invasion was coming to earth and that he wanted my help in stopping it. I tried to dissuade him, reminding him about all the incidents in the past with me and the Avengers, but he was determined. He gave twenty, TWENTY, reasons why I am necessary in stopping the threat. So now I prepare myself for what will most likely be another 'shoot me into space' trap. But he is right. There is an invasion coming, and I have to help."
"If you're watching this, then either 'A,' you broke into my computer and are watching this without my permission, or 'B,' I am no longer around and this is my last recording. If it happens to be the first one, I would recommend turning this off and walking away. Because people who invade my privacy make me angry. And since you obviously know who I am, you'll also know that you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
"However, if you are watching this for the second reason and I'm finally free of my curse, then I need to ask a favor of you--three favors, actually. The first is to tell Betty Ross that I love her. If you don't know who she is, ask Tony or Steve. They know. The second is to wipe this terminal clean of all my research and notes on the Hulk. If the Government were to get their hands on this computer, it would be the end of the world. Finally, if you run into Tony, tell him that this is his fault."
"Banner out."
+_______+_________+
Far above the Earth, in the outer atmosphere, a massive battle raged between two powerful forces. On one side was a robotic assimilation army that’s only purpose was to assimilate all other life forms into theirs. They had a fleet of hundreds of warships, each of those ships one hundred times larger than the helicarrier. The other side was the Avengers, the champions of Earth. This current team fighting the space battle for the Avengers consisted of Thor, Iron Man, Captain America (in the Javelin ship), and Hulk.
"RRRRRAAAAHHHH!!" Hulk roared into his helmet and he started tearing into the hull. The robots responded with robot spider drones that crawled out of the hole and started to swarm the Hulk. Their red eyes glowed with rage as they started to use their legs to try and slash through Hulk's skin, but all that did was anger the Hulk. Hulk roared in rage and started to swat the spiders off of his body. On one of the other ships, Thor swung the mighty Mjolnir down upon the ship, blasting the invaders into space dust. The main warship opened fire on the 'god of thunder' with its massive cannon, forcing Thor to concentrate his powers on deflecting the blasts. Thor was holding his own, but Hulk was completely outnumbered.
"Tony, Hulk needs your help!" Captain America shouted into his headset, trying to avoid being shot down while attacking the warships.
"Hold on, big guy!" Iron Man yelled into the communicator and started firing repulsor blasts down upon the spiders. As Hulk shook off the last of the spiders, he roared in rage and brought both fists down upon the hull, sending out a shockwave that split the spaceship in two. The explosion that followed tossed the Hulk straight into the mother ship. He collided into the side of it and got up, even angrier than before. He watched as more of the spiders exited the ship and started to advance towards Hulk.
"Puny metal spiders think they can hurt Hulk?" Hulk said with a growl. "HULK SMASH PUNY SPIDERS!" Hulk slammed his fist into the hull and tore out a large chunk of it. He then proceeded to smash the spiders to space dust by slamming the hull piece into the spiders repeatedly. Once they were taken care of, Hulk tossed the piece of ship through space and right into another one of the smaller warships. Hulk watched with a grin as the ship exploded into a display of fireworks.
"Hulk, one of the cannons has me locked on! Can you fix that?" America's voice crackled in Hulks communicator. Hulk looked at the hundreds of cannons and roared. He slammed into the first cannon that tried to fire and turned it back upon the others. In a barrage of laser fire, the megaship's own cannon destroyed the rest of its own arsenal.
"Not what I had in mind, but it'll do," Captain America muttered to himself. Thor and Iron Man double-teamed one of the smaller ships and soon the ship was reduced to a bunch of explosions.
"These machines are far weaker than the Kree," Thor noted, tossing Mjolnir into another ship. The mighty hammer hit the engine room, resulting in another magnificent explosion.
"Or any other alien race we've had to battle so far. Jarvis, how many ships left?" Tony asked his A.I.
"Only the megaship, sir. But that one seems to have a case of gamma trouble."
Just as Jarvis had said, Hulk was tearing the ship apart piece by piece. This didn't sit too well with the invaders, so they sent out their secret weapon: Gyro, a special robot that could mimic any living beings in both strength and form. The robot left one of the air locks and landed on the ship, eyeing the Hulk. It downloaded his strength and power levels and began to change. Its torso and arms expanded, while its legs took on a more sleek muscle approach. It kept its head the same, with the robot lizard face with red eyes and a wicked jaw. It roared and rushed the Hulk. The Hulk saw the incoming foe and roared as well, charging straight at it. The two collided on the ship's damaged hull and the real fight began.
Gyro punched Hulk in the gut, almost doubling over the green giant. Hulk responded with a vicious backhand to the robot's lizard face, smacking it across the hull. Hulk went for a double arm smash, only to have his legs swept out from under him and he slammed through the deck. The robot jumped into the new hole in the hull and the two continued their fight inside.
"Puny robot thinks it stronger than Hulk? HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS!" Hulk roared, catching the robot on his shoulder and driving it through the interior wall. Hulk continued to charge, smashing through wall after wall, until Gyro drove both feet into the deck and tossed Hulk over its head. Other robots ran for their artificial lives when the two behemoths collided in the recharging station. Gyro ripped a charging cable out of the wall and drove it into Hulk's face. Hulk roared in rage and grabbed the robot's arm and started to beat him repeatedly against the floor. Hulk then created a new hole in the ceiling with Gyro and tossed him back onto the hull.
"IMPOSSIBLE, SUBJECT'S POWER SURPASSING RECORDED LIMITS," Gyro analyzed as Hulk jumped out onto the hull. The two titans collided again while the rest of the Avengers watched.
"That robot doesn't stand a chance," Tony said with a smile. He was content with watching until Jarvis gave him a heads up.
"Sir, the megaship is going for a hyperspace jump. It seems that they are trying to retreat."
"What, but Hulk's still on there. Hulk listen, you've got to get off that ship now!" Tony yelled at Hulk through the communicators
"Puny robot attack Hulk. Hulk smash robot!" was Hulk's reply. Tony swore and engaged his boosters, heading for the mega ship. He was too late, as the ship engaged the hyperspace jump and promptly vanished in a blinding light. When the light died down, the Avengers looked at the spot where it had vanished.
"Hulk won't be happy about this," Tony groaned.
________+________+__________+____
Contrary to what many experts on Earth said, Hyperspace is actually a beautiful place. While inside of it, one can see thousands of stars flying by, a tapestry of colors and galaxies flashing by, ready-made for an incredible 'photo op.' Yes, it would’ve been glorious for Hulk to see if he weren't so busy smashing a robot into scrap.
Hulk continued to pound away on the robot, which was doing its best to avoid destruction. Gyro went for a low blow and staggered the Hulk, which Gyro then followed up with a pressure point shot to the neck. His robot eyes widened when Hulk shrugged off the pressure point attack and turned to face the robot, rage gleaming in his eyes.
"Robot think it can hurt Hulk? HULK TEAR YOU OPEN LIKE A TIN CAN!" Gyro tried to avoid Hulk's grip, but quickly found himself trapped in a massive bear hug. Gyro repeatedly head-butted the Hulk to try and loosen his grip, but it was to no avail. So in one last desperation move, Gyro activated his thrusters, knocking the both of them off the ship and into the hyperspace field, destination unknown.
_________+++++++__________+++++++
Nights in Equestria were some of the more spectacular things a pony could witness. The multitude of stars twinkle like hundreds of fairies in the sky, teasing all that saw them to come and play. The hues of the sky itself were the perfect mix of black and blue, creating a masterpiece of coloring. And then the moon herself gave light to the land, casting a pale light to help those lost in the dark to see. Yes, this masterpiece of Princess Luna's was a sight to behold. If a pony was lucky, they might be able to see a rare meteor flying across the sky. Tonight was one of those nights. A certain purple unicorn was up late reading about ten books. She happened to look out the window and her eyes widened in shock to find a giant green meteor heading for the forest. Her curiosity got the better of her and she headed out the door, into the night.
______++++++++_____+++++
KKKKKAAAABBBBOOOOOMMMM!!
The entire forest came alive as the entire continent shook. The resulting explosion created a massive mile wide crater in the center of the forest, scaring away all the wildlife in the area. And if they weren't scared away by the meteor's impact, they were definitely gone when the two creatures inside the crater continued their match.
"GGGRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!" Hulk roared, tossing his robot adversary through any trees left standing. Gyro rose back to his feet and was instantly knocked back down by a giant log. Hulk went for another swing, but Gyro let fire a blast of energy from his mouth that disintegrated the log. Hulk tossed away the burnt stump and slammed a green fist into the robot's stomach, knocking it through the forest. The damaged robot struggled back to its feet, only to be stomped back down by an angry, big green giant. Hulk pinned the robot down with his foot and began to press down, crushing the robot under his foot. Sparks began to fly from the robot's joints and his chest as the body began to compress.
"ERROR, ERROR. LIFEFORM IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS POWERFUL. ALL SENSORS INDICATE POWER SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO MINE," Gyro analyzed as the Hulk applied more and more pressure. Hulk gave him a green smile in response.
"Stupid tin can. You don't know anything about Hulk. The angrier Hulk get," Hulk began, lifting his foot. "THE STRONGER HULK GET!" he roared, slamming his foot upon the robot one last time. The impact crushed the robot into oblivion and created another massive crater into the ground.
"GGGGGGRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" Hulk roared into the sky, shaking the very ground with his roar. "WHO STRONGER THAN HULK? NO ONE! HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS!!!!" Hulk then let his arms fall to his side as the rage rush wore off.
"Hulk...tired," Hulk yawned before trudging into the forest. Hulk was too tired to take in the scenery that surrounded him, not noticing that the plant life was different than the plants on Earth, or that the moon was much closer to the planet than it should have been. While Hulk was alone in the forest, there was always a voice that bothered him wherever he went.
'Well that was a nice waste of time. Where did you wind up this time?' Hulk snarled and turned around to find a small human with light brown hair giving him a questioning look. Hulk knew him well, as he was the one person he hated above any other.
"Banner," Hulk growled, walking up to his other. Banner looked up at Hulk, who was a good four feet taller than him, and stared into the giant's eyes.
'We're no longer on Earth, Hulk. Even you should've realized that.'
"Shut up," Hulk growled, trying to grab Banner. Banner vanished and rematerialized behind Hulk.
'We've been over this Hulk. I'm in your subconscious right now, you can't hurt me.' Hulk turned around and continued walking, with Banner following right behind him.
"Why puny Banner follow Hulk? Leave Hulk alone." Banner let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.
'We've also been over this as well Hulk. I can't leave you alone. God knows how many times I’ve tried, but we're simply stuck together, even if neither of us like it.' Hulk yawned again and slowly began to shrink, getting smaller and less green. Hulk finally leaned against a tree and closed his eyes, completing his transformation back into Bruce Banner. Banner looked around slowly, wondering what sort of new world this was in which he had ended up. He looked down and realized that once again, his pants had been the only article of clothing to survive the transformation. He was too tired to care at the moment, so he closed his eyes and began to dream.
When Banner dreamed, he dreamed of home--his friends and the love of his life, Betty. This time, he was on a beach in a folding chair. He looked to his left and found the love of his life next to him. He smiled at her and raised his hand to touch her, but found that his hand was now massive and green. He looked up and saw that the beautiful day had turned into a thunderstorm. He looked back at Betty to find her lying dead and bloodied on the ground. He roared in rage and ran to the water’s edge and looked down to find that he was the Hulk. He screamed into the sky, venting his own rage.
___++++_______________
Banner woke up, but didn't open his eyes. He was surprised that he had a dream like that; those kinds of nightmares had stopped a long time ago. What happened next surprised him even more. He felt something poke his foot. Odd, most wild animals could smell the gamma on him and usually left him alone. He opened his eyes and found a very interesting sight in front of him.
A purple horse was poking his foot.
The sun had set and risen during the time that Banner and Twilight spent talking and learning about all the different fields of science. Twilight had used up three notebooks writing down all the wonders that Banner taught her. He told her about how humans had learned to travel faster than any pony could run by creating motorized vehicles that ran on fossilized fuels, allowing fast transportation to other cities and towns. She had barely believed him when he told her about how humanity had created flying machines that could cross continents in a matter of hours. But where Twilight's mind was really blown was when Banner told her that humans had the technology to go into space that didn't require the strongest magic in the land to do so. She had also blown up some beakers and nearly burned the tree down trying to replicate a chemical reaction he had mentioned.
"And within about four to six days, a space vehicle can get to our moon and land on it. We humans have actually set foot on the moon--arguably our greatest achievement since a cave man discovered how fire worked," Banner finished, taking a gulp from a glass of water that he had grabbed for himself. Twilight's quill moved furiously over her paper as she took detailed notes of everything Banner said. The quill only stopped moving when she had a question.
"Have you been on the moon before, Banner?" Banner smiled and thought back to his first trip to the moon. It had started as a repair mission that the Avengers had set up to fix a stationary satellite that had gone dark. It ended with all the crew besides Banner dead, and the Hulk falling through the atmosphere engaged in combat with some weird space mutant. Ah, memories...
"Yes, I have been on the moon. It wasn't too special, but the view was to die for." Twilight wrote down what Banner said and put her notebook down, squinting her eyes and looking out the window at the sun rising over the horizon.
"Wow, sunrise already?" she remarked. "Well, we'd better get moving and get you to the hospital," Twilight said with a stifled yawn, putting her notebook on the shelf. Banner gave her a look.
"You're not trying to get another blood sample from me again, are you?" Banner asked in a neutral voice. Even though there was no malice in his voice, Twilight heard the underlying threat in his tone.
"No, no needles or blood samples. I'm actually trying to get you a job," Twilight said with a sigh.
"Job? What job?" a puzzled Banner asked.
After your miricle at the hospital the other day, Doctor Lifeline asked me, to ask you, if you wanted to have a job at the hospital. He said that they could really use someone who knew some outside-the-box skills."
"That's not the kind of doctor I am, Twilight. I knew about the charcoal because I have studied poisons in the past, but I'm not a medical doctor. I'm a scientist, not a medic," he stated matter-of-factly. Twilight rolled her eyes and opened the door to the library.
"Well, I set up an appointment anyway. Don't worry, I'll be with you the entire time in case you get scared," Twilight said in a joking tone.
"Hahaha, you're so funny," Banner replied dryly. The two headed out the door and off to the hospital. Twilight started talking about how magic worked in this world as well as its properties, while Banner only half-listened. The other half of his attention was spent on observing the ponies of the town. They seemed to be fine with his presence among them now, and none of them gave him a second glance. There was a number of different ponies, ranging from unicorns to earth to pegasus. All had a different 'cutie mark' (that's what the book he read had called the marks, at least), but some of them looked practically the same except for that mark. But what felt the weirdest to Banner was the sense of peace that seemed to float about in the air. No anger, no getting angry at each other; just peace...a peace of which he didn't deserve to be a part. One slip, one moment of weakness, and the entire town would be gone. He shouldn't be--
"Here we are!" Twilight called out to Banner, who in his musings had fallen ten feet behind Twilight. He snapped out of his thoughts and jogged over to the unicorn. She rolled her eyes with a smile as reached her and the two headed inside. The hospital was calmer than the last time Banner had been here. The doctors and nurses were lounging around, talking to themselves with coffee in their...hooves? How did ponies hold coffee in their hooves? Banner simply shrugged this off, as a doctor with a heart monitor on his flank spotted the two and walked over.
"Hello Miss Sparkle. Hello Doctor Banner. Thank you for taking the time to answer my request," he said with a smile, offering them a hoof.
"Thank you for inviting us, Doctor," Twilight smiled, shaking his hoof.
"Yes, thanks," Banner said with forced happiness and also shook the doctor's hoof.
"Well, if the two of you would come this way, we can talk inside my office." Doctor Lifeline turned and indicated for the two to follow him. Twilight followed with a smile, while Banner followed a little more slowly. He despised hospitals. Not the work done there, but the fact that every time he wound up in one (except here), he ended up strapped to a bed and forced to fight his way out. As the three walked down the hallways, Banner looked inside the rooms and noted that the beds were mostly empty. In fact, there were only three ponies, total, who were actually there for medical reasons.
"Here we are." Lifeline opend the door to his office and the two guests stepped inside. Banner looked around at the doctor's office which was nothing special, just an office. The doctor sat behind his desk and cast his eyes towards Banner.
"So, saving a foals life the other day...How'd that feel?" Doctor Lifeline asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Someone needed my help and I helped. That's all there was to it," Banner responded with a shrug. Doctor Lifeline raised both eyebrows.
"You managed to keep your calm in a panicked situation and helped save the life of a foal that was beyond the help of our other doctors, when YOU were supposed to be here for medical treatment yourself. Doctor Banner, if you don't mind me saying, that was more than just helping somepony," Doctor Lifeline said in a serious tone. "What you did was go out of your way to help someone else, even after your little...episode."
Banner frowned and narrowed his eyes at the doctor's mention of his rage attack, but Lifeline's words hit him in the heart. Banner had often gone out of his way to help others, but had he ever done it in a pre-rage state before? "I was happy to help. I was the only one there with the knowledge to help, so naturally I helped," Banner said flatly.
"And that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Lifeline continued. "The other day reminded me that we don't always have the answers to all the problems, so your new information was very interesting to see. I wanted to ask if you would consider working at the hospital until the time the mothership comes to pick you up?" Banner rolled his eyes about the 'mothership' joke, but he debated about the job opening.
"What kind of work would I have to do?" Banner asked cautisously. The doctor smiled at Banner's answer.
"Well, we'd liked to hear about your medical knowledge and all the different treatments that could help our patients. You could be an advisor or work with the staff. And if you don't want the job, that's fine with us too. It's up to you," Doctor Lifeline concluded. Banner wasn't sure what to do. He held within him a monster, a monster that could destroy this world. But he had helped, and for the first time in a lifetime, his help had been accepted. These ponies were accepting him for his actions and for who he was, not for whom they wanted him to be, and certainly not for what was inside of him. He looked over at Twilight, who nodded her head eagerly.
"...Alright, I'll do it," Banner decided. Doctor Lifeline smiled and hopped out of his chair, motioning a hoof for Banner and Twilight to follow. They went back out to where all the doctors were sitting around and Lifeline clapped his hooves to get their attention.
"Doctors and nurses, let me introduce you to our newest colleague...Doctor Banner!" Lifeline saluted, pointing both his hooves to Banner. The other doctors and nurses started to clap (an odd sight to see), making Banner feel a bit awkward.
"Well, while you get aquainted, I need to send a letter to Princess Celestia. And since Spike is away for awhile, I need to mail it. Sooo..." Twilight teleported out of the hospital, leaving Banner to be given a tour of the facility. Doctor Lifeline talked while Banner "listened."
"Over here is the operating room and this is the x-ray room. Also, we have the--"
SLAM!
Banner and Lifeline both spun around as the hospital doors were slammed open. Everypony (and Banner) stared at the sight that greeted them. A massive red stallion was standing in the doors, panting as if he had just ran for miles. On his back was a small filly with a red bow, who had tears streaming down her face. Also on his back was a wrinkly green pony that wasn't moving. After a moment, the doctors and nurses rushed over to the stallion's side.
"Big Macintosh, what happened?" Nurse Redheart asked. Applebloom did her best to respond through her tears.
"G-granny Smith j-just collapsed on the floor. She's not moving and she's barely breathing," she choked out through her tears. Lifeline took over.
"Get her to a medical room, now. Doctor Banner, go with them. They might need your help," he instructed. A unicorn doctor levitated Granny Smith off of Big Mac's back and floated her down the hall, followed by other nurses and doctors. Banner chased after them as Lifeline got more details from Macintosh. Banner entered the room where Granny Smith had been placed and watched the other doctors hook up wires to her.
"What's her heart rate, doctor?" Redheart asked.
"Barely beating and her pulse is falling fast," the doctor muttered. The heart monitor confirmed what he was saying, as the old mare's heart barely made a beep on the monitor. The doctors began to frantically try to find a medicine to restart her heart.
"Revitalizing potions are having no affect. Energy boosters aren't working either. What else do we have?" a doctor growled, trying to find a medicine that would work.
"Nothing else will work. There's nothing we can do," the nurse said with a fallen face. As the ponies desperately tried to figure out what to do, Banner watched them with interest. By his calculations, they had about one minute and thirty seconds to figure out what to do before the mare was lost. He'd give them thirty seconds before he intervened.
"No, no, no! Nothing's working!" Doctor Cleancut growled, looking at Granny Smith's heart monitor. It had essentially flatlined, and the long beep that all doctors feared to hear followed. Banner shook his head at their antics. Twilight was right; these ponies did need his help.
"Alright, time for me to step in. Cleancut, get a pegasus to get me a thundercloud," Banner said in his serious voice. Banner had read in one of Twilight's book that pegasi could move clouds, and Banner needed electricity, lots of it for a powerful jolt. Cleancut wasn't sure why he wanted a thundercloud, but he went with the man.
"Nurse Healthcare, get me a thundercloud, NOW!" The pegasi nurse flew out the window and came back in a few seconds later with the cloud.
"Good, place the cloud over her heart. Right here," Banner directed. The nurse moved the cloud over Granny Smith's heart. Banner added, "When I say 'now,' kick it."
"CLEAR!" Banner yelled, "Nurse Healthcare, NOW!!!" and the nurse kicked the cloud hard. Electricity flooded through the mare's body. Banner shouted again and the nurse kicked the cloud for more electricity. On the third attempt, the green mare's eyes shot open and she jumped out of the bed, twitching a bit.
"Woooeeee. I feel livelier than a June bug near a porch light. Hehe, sorry Death, but this old girl's still got some fight left," she laughed to herself, dancing around the room. The nurses and doctors stared at her in disbelief, had she really been at Death's door a moment ago? Doctor Banner smiled as the old mare continued to dance around the room, still taunting Death. The merriment was interrupted as the door to the room slammed open. All heads turned towards the orange pony that had opened the door with tears rolling down her face. She looked around until her eyes fell on the old green mare, who had a silly smile on her face.
"Applejack, glad ya came to see me. I've cheated Death once again. Hehe, he must hate me." Applejack stared at Granny Smith.
"Yer alright," she whispered.
"Ah'm better than alright, I'm supercharged!" AJ pulled her grandma to her heart with a hug, resulting in her mane standing on end. Banner smiled and left the room, not wanting to interrupt the moment. He decided to go down a different corridor, taking the long route to the entrance. He entered the lobby and walked by the red stallion and the little filly, who gave him a desperate look as he passed. He nodded with a smile and the two rushed past him to the old mare's room. Banner walked outside, to where the pink pony from yesterday was waiting.
"I heard the news. How is she?" Pinkie asked in a very worried voice, her bouncy mane laying flat on her head.
"She'll live," Banner said with a smile. Pinkie sighed in relief and her mane reinflated. She smiled at Banner and asked her question...
"Well, with that crises over, could you come to Sugarcube Corners with me?" she asked. Banner wondered what she was up to. Was she leading him into a trap, some sort of trick?
"Sure," Banner agreed. Pinkie smiled wider and bounced towards the sweets house with Banner following behind.
======--------------------------+------------------------=====
A pair of green eyes watched from the shadows as the Royal Carriage flew off in the direction of Ponyville, with the Princess of the Sun seated inside of it. The eyes swiftly turned and headed down the Canterlot streets, invisible to all who walked there. It quietly moved through the shadows, it's destination already decided.
The shadow reached the castle gates and slipped through them without incident. It slipped past the guards and snuck through the inside of the halls. After a few minutes, it reached its destination; the castle garden. It walked past a multitude of statues until it reached the one statue it had sought: The statue of Discord. The shadow slipped from the darkness, revealing a tall, black, insect-like creature, with bug-like wings and a crooked horn..Queen Chrysalis.
"Hello, Discord. It's been awhile," the queen said in a silky voice.
'Indeed it has. I hope that you came to see me for more than just small talk?' the statue of the draconequus asked in her mind. Chrysalis smiled evily.
"How would you like to help me throw the world into chaos?"
"What? Throw the world into chaos? Only somepony that was completely insane would do that. I'm in."
Chrysalis smiled and used her magic to let chaos loose.
Pinkie followed Hulk to Applejack's farm, where she waited for him to come crashing down next to some trees. Pinkie covered her eyes as Hulk's landing kicked up a dust cloud and knocked over some of the apple trees. Pinkie made a mental note to tell AJ about that later as she followed Hulk into the Everfree Forest. The sun had just begun its descent behind the mountains, but already there were shadows that gave the forest a creepy look. While that would be enough to scare most ponies, Pinkie knew the forest well and she also knew that the Hulk was far more dangerous than anything the forest could throw at her.
"Are you feeling alright?" Pinkie asked him as she hopped over the trees he had toppled over on his march. He only grunted in reply and continued to walk forward. "I figured that seeing some pony from your world would upset you, but can't you talk to me? I am your friend after all. You can trust me." Hulk growled in reply as he came to a stop and looked around, eyeing the trees for something.
"Hulk have nothing to say," Hulk finally said. "Metal Man no important now, none of them important."
"Then you don't care if I hold onto this?" Pinkie asked from atop Hulk's shoulders as she held the transmitter that Iron Man had given Hulk in front of his face. He growled and tried to snatch it away from her, but she moved it and hopped down to the ground. "Well, do you?"
"Hulk no care. Hulk only want to-" Pinkie came to a stop beside the Hulk, looking at him with confusion as Hulk glared ahead at a certain pony that stood in front of him. "What silver pony doing here? Hulk warned you about trying to mess with Hulk!" Pinkie looked from Hulk to the empty space in front of him, having no idea what he was talking about. As far as she could tell, it was only the two of them in the whole forest.
'I must say that I am amazed with you Hulk,' the silver mare said to Hulk sounding very impressed. 'I did not think it possible for you to actually make a friend, but here is the proof of how wrong I was. You have earned my respect to a degree.'
"Hulk no want your respect! Hulk wants you to leave Hulk alone!" Hulk snarled back, getting ready to charge at her.
"Um Hulk? I know the both of us are crazy to some degree, but I have no idea what you're talking about," Pinkie said to Hulk as she used her night vision goggles to no avail. Whatever was angering the Hulk, she couldn't see it. But whatever it was, she figured that if it bothered Hulk enough he'd deal with it. "Well I'm going ahead. When you're done talking to the whatever it is, I'll be up here." Pinkie then hopped off, stopping next to where Hulk had been glaring and squinting her eyes. When she still didn't see anything she frowned but continued along her way.
"Puny pony can't see you?" Hulk snarled at the silver mare, who turned her head back towards Hulk. Hulk's rage let up for a minute when he saw what looked like...sadness in her eyes. She realized that Hulk was looking into her face and re-adjusted her hood so that he could no longer see. "Why silver pony sad? What Pinkie do to pony?"
'It is a story for another time,' she said quickly, causing Hulk to get angry at her once again.
"What are you hiding from Hulk? What should Hulk know?!" The silver mare didn't answer, but instead looked back towards where Pinkie was.
'All in due time, but I don't know if you are one I should trust. But for now, I will tell you not to give up on your friend, no matter what happens. Even if she makes mistakes.' Then she simply vanished into thin air, leaving Hulk alone with his rage. He growled at where she had vanished before heading over to Pinkie, figuring that the pony had indicated for him to join her. Hulk walked over to Pinkie to find her jaw dropped, smirking to himself as he followed her gaze and saw that they were at the spot where he had impacted the ground when he first arrived here.
"Finally Hulk find spot."
"You wanted to come back here?" Pinkie asked him as she looked into the massive crater. "Um, did you by any chance fall from space when you got here?"
"That what Banner said," Hulk muttered as he walked down into the crater, looking around with growing frustration. Pinkie watched him quietly for a minute, before she couldn't take it any more and had to ask...
"What are you looking for?" she asked him as he started to kick over trees in frustration. "Maybe I can help. I have this cool thing called my 'Pinkie sense' that allows me to detect things that are otherwise undetectable. Do you want my help?"
"Hulk don't care if pony help, but Hulk need to find puny robot."
"What's a robot?"
"The thing Hulk smashed as he fell from sky," Hulk responded as he started lifting up trees. "Hulk now remembered him after metal man show up. Hulk forgot to completely smash him."
"Oh that's cool," Pinkie said as she started looking around as well before her entire body began to shake uncontrollably. "Whoa, that was a big one!" Pinkie exclaimed as she started walking in zig zags. "I haven't felt a shiver like that since that Hydra attacked us, when Fluttershy needed to drop off her frogs!" Hulk was content to ignore her as he continued to search, but then the both of them heard the sounds of screaming coming from the distance.
"That sounded like it came from-!" Hulk grabbed Pinkie under one arm and launched the both of them into the sky as they headed for Ponyville, which was already burning.
"How many times puny town going to be in danger?!" Hulk roared over the rush of the wind.
"You get used to it," Pinkie told him as they landed in the town square, Hulk dropping Pinkie as he spotted the source of the fires. The robot that he had battled was firing beams of energy into the buildings and ponies, scanning them as it did so. "So is that the-?"
"RRRAAAAHHHH!!" Hulk roared before charging towards the robot with both arms outstretched. The robot, named Gyro, turned as it heard his roar and started to run towards him, it's eyes glowing a crimson red as it resumed its attack. Any ponies that were caught in between the charging giants quickly ran out of the way as Hulk and Gyro leapt at each other at the same time, the robot managing to slip under Hulk's grasp and drove him into the ground. Hulk kicked it off and rolled back to his feet, slamming his hands into the ground to create an earthquake that sent Gyro flying through one of the buildings. Hulk charged the fallen machine only to receive a blast of energy into his chest that threw him into the side of a carpet shop, another blast then sent him through it. Hulk roared and shook off the rubble of the building that had been brought down on him, while Pinkie watched him charge right back at the robot, grabbing its leg and slamming it through a number of stands.
"Pinkie!" Pinkie turned to see her friends all running over to her, the Elements of Harmony on all their necks. "What is that thing and why is it attacking the town?!"
"Seems that he and Hulk had a grudge match before they reached our planet," Pinkie explained as Hulk ripped a building out of the ground and smashed it onto Gyro's head. Gyro followed by letting loose a storm of fire into Hulk's eyes, which forced him back while momentarily blinding him. Gyro then leapt onto Hulk's back and tried to stab him with a needle, but the needle folded like paper on Hulk's skin and allowed Hulk to leap onto Gyro's back in an attempt to crush it.
"The two of them are going to tear the whole town apart at this rate!" RD exclaimed as the ground shook under the ponies' hooves as the two titans continued to clash. "Pinkie, can't you do something to calm him down?"
"Like what? He's in 'fight mode' and until that thing is scrap he's not going to stop!" Pinkie yelled back as Hulk grabbed the robot by its torso and legs, slowly starting to pull it apart. The robot's red eyes then looked over to the ponies and started to scan them, starting with Twilight. Hulk had almost ripped it in half...when it simply teleported out of his grasp.
"That was my teleportation spell," Twilight whispered as Hulk looked around for the robot with a roar, not expecting it to appear over his hand and slam its legs into his head. Hulk snarled and reached around to grab the robot by the leg, trying to drag it down to him as it looked over at Rainbow Dash. Then it shot off into the sky, with a very surprised Hulk in tow. It then started to spin until it became a rainbow tornado, throwing off the Hulk and sending him crashing back down towards the ground.
"Hey! That's my move!" RD yelled angrily. Hulk shot back out of the ground and slammed into the robot's chest in mid-air, wrapping one of his massive hands around the robot's sensor as he figured out what it was doing. The robot's head began to glow and a purple aura started to tear his fingers off of its face. Hulk quickly let go and swung his other fist around into the robot's leg, the blunt impact tearing the leg off. The robot glowed again and lifted Hulk up in front of it before throwing him into the Sugarcube Corners. Hulk groaned as he started to get up, looking up just in time to see a barrage of lasers start hitting the house. Hulk was about to leave when he heard the sounds of crying foals coming from upstairs.
"Argh! Ponies always helpless," he growled to himself as he leapt to the second floor, walking towards the room from where he heard the crying and tearing the door off its hinges. Inside, he saw the two foals that Pinkie had shown him earlier as well as two ponies that had been knocked unconscious by a falling beam. Hulk shook his head and walked past the two ponies and placed his hands into the babies' crib, watching with a smile as they climbed into his hand. He then crouched down as he prepared to jump out of the house as more laser fire started to hit the house, but one of the foals grabbed his hand.
"Mama. Daddy," the foal with the horn said to him. Hulk looked back at the two ponies with a sigh, knowing that he had to help them too. Hulk reached down with his other hand and flicked away the beam before scooping the two ponies up. After he tucked them under his arm and closed his fist over the two foals to protect them, he shot out of the building as it crumbled around him and landed next to the ponies.
"Take stupid ponies and keep them out of Hulk's way," he said to Pinkie as he dropped the two unconscious ponies next to the Elements and then handed the foals to Pinkie, who scooped them into her arms as Hulk turned around and threw himself back into the fray.
"Bye-bye Hulky!" the foals said as he charged Gyro. Hulk saw the robot setting fire to more houses as he sailed through the air, so when he got close to it he slammed his hands together to create a massive shockwave that blasted the robot out of the air. It crashed into the ground near Twilight's library and got up with more laser fire, ripping a branch off of Twilight's house to smack Hulk as he came crashing down to the ground. The branch broke on Hulk's skin and he collided with the robot, grabbing its arm as it tried to escape, and the Green giant ripped it off as well. The robot staggered back as it used the magic it had copied from Twilight to keep itself upright while it fired more lasers into Hulk's chest. Hulk managed to dodge most of the lasers, until one slipped under his arm and hit--
"PINKIE!" Twilight screamed as the pink pony threw herself over the foals to protect them from the laser blast, knocking her over and out cold. While the ponies rushed to her aid, Hulk looked down at Pinkie with a cold rage building in his heart, not at the pony that lay before him, but towards the robot that would dare to hurt his friend. Gyro had just hurt the only creature that had been kind to him since he had arrived...and then he snapped.
"HULK RIP YOU IN TWO!" Hulk screamed as he threw himself at Gyro, who fired a volley of magic at him. Hulk ran straight through the laser fire and swung the robot's arm into it's head, knocking the head clean off as it sailed into the distance. Hulk then let out a roar as he grabbed the robot's chest and slammed it into the ground, tearing out it's inner workings with increased rage.
"HULK SMASH YOU! HULK BEAT YOU! HULK KILL YOU!" Hulk screamed as he tore open Gyro's chest plate and started to tear out his wires and inner workings, oil and fluids spraying all over him as he started to rip at the robot at an increasing speed. Hulk went in for the finishing blow, but a pink hoof wrapped around his arm to stop him. Hulk turned to see Pinkie holding onto his arm, tears streaming down her face.
"Stop Hulk. It's over. Please stop," she whispered to him. Hulk growled and shook her off, but didn't finish his attack and stood up to glare at her.
"Why pony stop Hulk?"
"Look," Pinkie said softly as she pointed to all the ponies who had been watching the entire fight. Hulk looked at all of them in confusion, narrowing his eyes to realize that they were all looking at him in terror.--and they weren't just looking at him, they were also looking at the cords and wires that were being held in Hulk's hands...hands that were also covered in oil as well as pieces of metal. Then Pinkie looked back up at him with sad eyes. "They think you just ripped a creature apart. And now they fear you again." Hulk looked down at the robot which was no longer moving or reacting, oil spilling from where its limbs should have been. Hulk looked up at all the ponies with a sigh, standing back up and dropping the pieces of the machine at his feet as he looked at Pinkie.
"Hulk no care what they think. If they think Hulk is a monster, then Hulk monster," Hulk said with a grim face as he turned off towards the mountain that he had made home. "Hulk is used to being feared."
"Hulk, that's not what I-" Pinkie brought a hoof up over her eyes as Hulk kicked off the ground and sailed into the distance. She sighed to herself as she watched his green body sail away, mentally kicking herself at upsetting Hulk once again. Then she looked around at all the ponies. She realized that he wasn't the only one who needed cheering up. All of the ponies in the town seemed down after this attack and she couldn't blame them. So Pinkie Pie thought of a fullproof idea of how to both bring up their spirits and get the ponies to accept Hulk again.
She was going to throw Hulk a party.
